Building Dreams
by christibabe
Summary: All that stands in Ranger's way of building the company of his dreams is a dilapitated, Victorian home. While on a mission for the government he hears the price for the property has come down to what he's willing to pay. Imagine his surprise when he returns home to find his property has been sold..and not to him. What will he have to do to get his property? Story is AU and Babe HEA
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

Chapter 1: A New Beginning

I stood in the parking lot of my apartment building and watched as the fire trucks and police cars came screaming into the parking lot. The firefighters pulled their equipment on and headed into the building as the police officers set up a crime scene perimeter. My ex-boyfriend, a Trenton cop by the name of Joe Morelli pulled his non-descript car into the lot and got out of the car. I watched as he searched the crowded parking lot till our eyes met and the worry left his face and he gave a slight smile. He ambled in my direction and I watched as he closed in on my location. Morelli smiled as he reached me and he asked, "What did you do now Cupcake?"

I turned to him with my hands on my hips and glared, "Why do you assume I did anything?"

Morelli threw back his head and laughed, "You've had 9 cars, 3 apartments, a funeral home and a restaurant go up in flames and you're wondering why I'm assuming this is on you?"

I rolled my eyes, "They weren't my fault!"

"You're losing credibility with that line Cupcake."

I glared and gave Morelli a hand gestured letting him know what I thought of his attitude and walked away. He chuckled and took hold of my arm to pull me up short. "Seriously Cupcake, any ideas who might have done this?"

I shook my head. "No." I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

"Aw Steph, don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry."

I wiped my wet face and sniffed, "Rex didn't make it."

Joe's face twisted in agony and he wrapped his arms around me. He rested his chin on the top of my head and said, "I'm sorry Steph."

I nodded and let myself feel secure in his embrace. Joe stayed with me until the fire department had finished up and the crowd had all but gone. Joe asked, "You need a ride somewhere Cupcake?"

I sighed, "No. I have my car and it missed the explosion so I'm good."

He walked me to my car and helped me into the driver's seat. I turned the key and the car turned right over. I thanked Joe and we said our goodbyes. I headed to my parent's house. They lived in a two story duplex in a neighborhood in Chambersburg known as "The Burg". Our half was yellow with a brown shingle roof. When I pulled up in front of my parent's house, my mom and grandma were standing on the porch by the front door. I never knew how they did it but they always knew when I was arriving and they were always waiting on the front porch. Grandma Mazur's eyes were lit up with excitement but my mom's lips were pinched with disapproval. I sent them a finger wave and made my way over to them.

My mom tossed her head and sniffed, "We've had over three dozen calls. Why must you always get into these situations?"

I rolled my eyes, "It wasn't my fault."

"Right. It never is."

I stopped midstride and turned to my mother. "I just spent the past two hours dealing with the fact that someone blew up my apartment building. I'm tired and I'd like to get some sleep before I have to get up in three hours and get ready to go out on job interviews. I don't need the added stress of you putting all this on me. Now, I will find some other place to spend the night so I don't contaminate you with my presence." I turned and headed back towards my car.

"Stephanie!"

I turned and felt my shoulders sag as I noticed my dad on the front porch. "Sorry daddy, but I'm at the end of my rope."

"Come into the house and get some sleep Pumpkin. Your mother will keep her opinions to herself." Dad turned to mom and sent her a look I wasn't privy to, "Isn't that right Helen?"

Mom gave a slight nod as her lips pinched even further into a sour expression. I made my way into the house and headed up to my old room. I still had a few things at my parent's for emergencies and I slipped into the nightie in the drawer and slipped into bed. I was asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. I heard noise the next morning that told me I had missed the window to get in and out of the bathroom before grandma and dad had their usual fight over who needed it more. Each one took forever in there and I got some extra sleep while I was waiting for them to finish. I took a quick shower and dressed in the navy pantsuit I had left there from the last time I spent the night. I got myself all dressed and ready before heading downstairs, hoping to get breakfast.

When I walked into the kitchen, grandma was dishing up French toast and bacon onto a plate. She set the plate on the table and said, "Dig in. Your mother is at the market buying meat."

I sighed as I sat down. Grandma stopped behind me and wrapped her arms around me. "You don't let her get to you baby girl. I was so proud of you standing up to her last night. So was your daddy."

I took a bite of breakfast and moaned. "This is really good grandma."

She sat down and gave me a questioning look. "What are you going to do about a place to live?"

I shrugged, "Look for another apartment I guess. Although its getting harder each time one blows up."

Grandma smiled and pushed a photo in front of me. My eyes widened and then I met her gaze. "Its for sale. I have some money squirreled away that I could let you have if you are interested in buying it and fixing it up. I'd like to rent a room from you, and if you rented out other rooms, the money you got would pay the mortgage."

I had to admit, she had a great idea. I had always loved the three story Victorian house on the outskirts of Trenton. The house was set on 15 acres of land. I picked up the paper and noticed the price of the house had been lowered. "How much do you have to put towards this?"

Grandma replied, "I have $50,000."

I bit my lip. "I would have to work out a proposal for the bank, but I think we could make this work. I'll get on it when I get done with my interviews."

I finished breakfast and told grandma I would see her later. I headed out to my car and made my way to my first interview. It was at the law offices of Limbrick, Downley, and Orr. I was directed to a waiting room and after about 15 minutes I was called back for my interview. The minute I was introduced to Richard Orr I knew this wouldn't be the job for me. The Dick was more interested in getting in my pants then he was in finding a new secretary. When I said goodbye I knew I wouldn't be accepting any job offers from this company.

I knew when I pulled up for my second interview that I wouldn't be accepting a job there either. It was at a bar on Stark Street and they needed a manager. I wasn't willing to put myself in mortal danger daily for a job. The third and last place where I was interviewing was a small, seven story, nondescript building on Haywood. I noticed as I parked a small name plate that said Rangeman. I sent a prayer up that I would get this job. It was the best option that had come along in the 6 months since I'd been let go from E. E. Martin. I entered the Lobby and smiled at the man who sat behind the desk.

I walked briskly and confidently across the Lobby floor and stopped at the desk. I smiled and held out my right hand as I said, "Hello. My name is Stephanie Plum and I am here to see Mr. Manoso for an interview."

The man behind the desk accepted my hand and shook it before saying, "My name is Binkie ma'am. Mr. Manoso is not available but Tank will interview you. I'll just call upstairs and have one of the guys come down and show you where to go."

I smiled, "I wouldn't want you to go to any trouble. If you could give me directions, I'm sure I could find Tank's office." I couldn't help but think who would go by the name of Tank.

Binkie stood and I looked up…way up. At a guess I would say Binkie stood 6'3" tall and weighed probably close to 250 pounds of solid muscle. He was a very good looking guy that looked to be a few years younger than I was. His face gave nothing away as he led me to the elevator. His light brown hair was cut military style and he had brown eyes. As we neared the elevator it opened and a man topping Binkie by a good inch stood inside waiting. The two guys nodded to each other and I stepped inside and sent Binkie a finger wave.

I turned to the big, bald, jug-headed guy, neatly dressed in black jeans and T-shirt. He had muscle-bound, bulging arms crossed over his massive chest and his tiny eyes were fixed on me. He had a flaming skull tattooed on his forehead and looked like a Steroidasaurus. (pg. 221 TTN) I smiled up at the guy with no reaction from him. I rolled my eyes and turned towards the elevator doors and waited to arrive at our destination. When the doors opened I stepped off and the guy behind me motioned me towards an office at the other end of the room. There were cubicles to one side and the other side of the room had a wall of monitors where two men sat watching the screens. When I reached the indicated office I stopped and looked up at the guy beside me. He gave nothing away as he knocked on the door.

A deep, booming, "Enter." sounded and the guy beside me opened the door and indicated I should precede him. If I thought the first two guys were big they were nothing compared to the man who stood as I entered and stepped towards me with his hand out. He smiled and said, "Welcome Ms. Plum. I'm Tank. I'm the second in command around here and since Ranger isn't available for your interview I'll be the one conducting it. Please have a seat."

I shook his hand and then walked over to the sofa and sat down. Tank never looked away from me as he said, "That will be all Cal." My gaze took in Tank as we waited for Cal to leave. Tank stood about six foot six and is built like a tank. He didn't have an ounce of fat on him and wore his hair in a Marine buzz cut. (pg. 131 TTN) He was dressed in black cargos and a black t-shirt. He was a good looking black man and his face gave nothing away. What was it with these guys anyway? Did they all take blank faces 101?

I waited for Tank to read through the file in front of him and then he looked up and met my gaze. "I see from your resume that you worked for E. E. Martin. Can you tell me why you are no longer with them?"

I nodded, "They were bought out by another company and the new owners decided to hire their own staff. Plus, it was rumored that some of the people in management weren't exactly honest."

Although he didn't react, I had a feeling I surprised him with my answer. I schooled my face not to let my thoughts show but couldn't help thinking, 'What, you didn't think I would be honest. Everybody and their brother knows all about it and I have no intention of trying to hide the facts because I want this job.' At a barely there smile on Tank's face I started wondering if my thoughts had stayed where they belonged or if I had voiced some or all of what I was thinking.

"I see you haven't been working the past 6 months. Been finding it difficult to find an employer willing to take a chance that you weren't one of the dishonest ones?"

I nodded. "That's part of it."

"The other part?"

"There are some things I'm not willing to do no matter how much money is involved."

"Ms. Plum, if we decide to hire you, would you have a problem following our company polices. In particular that you would need to carry a gun on you at all times as well as training on how to use various types of guns. You will also need to follow an exercise regime as well as healthy eating habits."

My mind was reeling with all he had just told me. "What kind of regime?"

"You will need to be proficient on several weapons as well as carry a gun on your person at all times, you'll need to work out three times a week for an hour each time, and Rangeman has a contraband rule as to what can be brought into the building. No sweets."

I paused, "Does that mean no sweets at all or just none in the building?"

Tank's lips lifted slightly, "As long as you don't eat them at Rangeman you're good."

I took a sigh of relief. "I think I can follow those rules."

Tank nodded, "I'm prepared to offer you the position Ms. Plum."

I winced, "Can you call me Stephanie or Steph? Ms. Plum makes me feel like my mother." I shuddered involuntarily.

Tank nodded, "Okay Stephanie." He held his hand out to me, "Welcome aboard."

I shook his hand and grinned. "Thank you. You won't be disappointed."

Over the next two hours I became acquainted with the Rangeman policies. I signed contracts and learned what my pay scale would be. Tank took me around and showed me where the gym and gun range were located. I was allowed to choose a gun and he spent some time going over gun safety and making sure I knew how to use the gun. No one was more surprised than I was when I managed to shoot the paper target in the heart over and over. Tank had me fill out the paper work so he could get me registered to pick up skips, and a gun permit as well as a carry concealed permit. Although picking up skips wouldn't be part of my normal job duties, it was necessary for the paperwork to be filed in case it was necessary for me to run a skip in. Tank showed me into the gym and introduced me to the guys around Rangeman. I knew I wouldn't remember half their names so I just smiled and nodded figuring I would work on getting to know the rest of them later.

When we finished the tour we were in the Lobby. Tank shook my hand once more and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you Stephanie. I'll see you tomorrow morning at 8 a.m."

I groaned inwardly but smiled and nodded. "8 a.m."

I headed out to my car and decided to swing by the banks to see if I could arrange the loan for the house. With the down payment from grandma, my salary from Rangeman, and the rent from the borders, it seemed like a sure thing….I hoped. I pulled into the bank's lot and headed inside. I saw my cousin Mary as I entered the bank and sent her a finger wave. She smiled back. I stopped by the loan officer's desk and asked to speak with John about a loan. I only had to wait a few minutes to see him and when I came out of his office an hour later I had the signed loan note for the house of my dreams. Seems the bank held the loan on the house and they were anxious to sell. I had everything signed and sealed and finalized.

I was walking on air as I made the way out to my car. I had the keys to my new home in my hands. I made the trip out there and looked through the house before heading back to my parent's to tell grandma the good news. When I told my parent's and grandma about buying the house and my new job, the only one not excited was my mother. My dad agreed to go out the next day and take a look to see what the house might need in the way of repairs before I could move in. When I told everyone I had to be to work by 8 in the morning I could see my dad's shoulders silently shaking and grandma was chuckling. I helped with the dishes and watched TV with my dad for a while before heading to bed early.

The next morning when I got to the Rangeman building I made my way into the Lobby. There was a different man at the desk today and I smiled and sent him a finger wave as I walked past him towards the elevator. Just as I reached the elevator he seemed to come to his senses and stood to come after me. My eyes widened and as the elevator doors opened I stepped in and pressed the 5 button. The elevator doors shut before the guy from the desk reached me. When the doors opened on the 5th floor I froze and lifted my hands as three very scary men dressed in black stood there holding their guns aimed at me.

I heard Tank's voice boom from the other side of the room, "Stand down!"

The guys put their guns away as Tank strode towards me and held out his hand muttering, "Sorry about that Steph. Apparently not all the guys got the message about you coming on board."

I nodded, "Its okay. I needed a good adrenaline rush first thing this morning."

I got the impression Tank was fighting not to laugh. "Let me show you to your desk."

I followed him to a cubicle and noticed how neat and tidy everything looked. I sure hoped I wasn't expected to keep it in that condition. I sat down and Tank ran over what I needed to know about my computer and everything. He wished me well on my first day and told me if I had any questions his office was open to me anytime. I thanked him and spent the first hour acquainting myself with everything. I had gone to the break room to get a drink of water, and when I got back I found my in box had been crammed with folders. There was a note on top telling me which program to use. I lifted the first file and got to work.

About halfway through my in box I came to a file on Walter Dunphy. I frowned and wondered what Mooner had done to get arrested. I read through the file and noticed the bond was an especially high one. The more I read the more upset my stomach got. I had a feeling there was something going on here that wasn't in black and white. I put the information into the search program and was surprised to get addresses for Mooner that I knew were fake. I printed out the information and when I went to take it from the printer I noticed my hands were shaking. I looked over everything I had found and noticed a couple of pieces of information that didn't fit with the rest.

I bit my lip and debated what to do. I lifted my gaze and looked towards Tank's office. I stood and decided to take what I knew to Tank and see what he thought. Taking him at his word I walked into his office and didn't bat an eye as he looked up from what he was working on and glared in my direction. After several tense moments he asked, "Can I help you Steph?"

I handed him the file. "There are some pieces that don't fit with this one."

"Just put the search information in the file and leave it in the out box. One of the guys will follow the leads."

I bit my lip and shrugged, "They won't find him with the information in here. Its not accurate."

I suddenly had all of Tank's attention. "How do you know this?"

"Mooner lives in the Burg. I went to school with him. He's harmless and I can't believe he could do something like this. Now if he had gotten picked up for smoking marijuana or selling something hot I could believe it."

Tank motioned to the sofa so I sat down and told him all I knew about Mooner. I also included where they would find Mooner. Tank rubbed his chin as if he were thinking hard about something. "Alright. I'm going to have you go out with Bobby and Lester and to pick this guy up."

I nodded. Tank lifted the phone on his desk and pressed a number. After a second he growled, "Santos! Grab Brown and get to my office!


	2. Saving A Friend

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

Chapter 2: Saving A Friend

When the knock sounded on the door moments later, Tank didn't even look up from the file he was reading. I took the opportunity to watch the two guys that entered. My first thought was geez, are any of these guys shorter than 6'? The shorter of the two men was still close to 6'2" in height and had a muscular build that would make your mouth water. He was nearly as dark as Tank but his features were more like that of a white person. He sported the same haircut as Tank and he had a smile on his face as he entered the room. I later learned his name was Bobby Brown. The other man was Lester Santos and he was only an inch taller and although he had the same muscular build, he was trimmer than Bobby, although none of these guys had an ounce of fat anywhere on their bodies. Lester was of indeterminate origins with a darker than average complexion even though he had shoulder length blonde-brown hair and the most compelling green eyes I'd ever seen. From his last name I would venture a guess that he was at least partly Latin American. Both men were gorgeous.

Tank finally looked up and nodded at the newcomers. "Bobby. Les. This is Stephanie and she just ran a check on Walter Dunphy. Steph says there's something not right with this case. I want the two of you to go with her while she looks into it."

It was all I could do not to laugh at the expression on their faces. Bobby actually went over and laid a hand on Tanks forehead. Tank swatted him away and glared at him. I bit back a smile and watched the bi-play between the three of them. When they were done goofing around, Bobby and Les were shaking their heads and Bobby told me to let them do all the work. I nodded my agreement and followed them down to the garage. Bobby stopped beside a huge, black, SUV. I looked from the garage floor to the floorboard of the vehicle and raised an eyebrow, wondering how I was going to climb into the beast. Les started chuckling and hoisted me up into the back seat. I fastened my seat belt and remembered to stay quiet as we headed to Mooner's after I gave them the address.

When we pulled up the guys turned and looked at me like I was nuts. Les shook his head, "Is this the address the search pulled up?"

"No."

Les rolled his eyes, "First rule about skip tracing Beautiful is trust your searches. They'll come up with the goods. Now what was the address you dug up?"

"That address is wrong. This is where Mooner lives."

Bobby burst out laughing, "We aren't looking for Mooner, we're looking for Walter Dunphy."

I shrugged, "They're one and the same."

Both guys started shaking their heads and I was starting to get pissed. I opened the door and slid out of the back seat. Once my feet touched the ground I headed up to the apartment building and knocked on Mooner's door. The door opened unexpectedly and a hand reached out and pulled me into the building before slamming the door shut again. I waited a moment till my vision adjusted to the darkness and smiled. The man standing before me was about 5'10" tall and weighed a little over 150 pounds. He had shaggy red hair that reached his shoulders and a goatee.

His brown, puppy dog eyes lit up as he recognized me and he exclaimed, "Dudette! I'm saved!"

"What's happening Mooner?"

"I think I'm in trouble Dudette. I went to a party last weekend and when I woke up I was in jail with no memory of what happened."

Having read the file I knew the charges against Mooner were for murder. I also knew there was no way Mooner could possibly have killed anyone. "You missed your court date."

He started nodding like one of those bobble-headed dolls. "I was planning on going until I got the phone call. It said I was dead if I stepped foot out of the building."

Before I had a chance to say anything else there was the sound of the building coming down on us as the front and back doors where broken in at the same time as someone jumping through each of Mooner's three windows. We watched with our mouths open in shock as several men dressed in SWAT black came charging into the room with guns drawn. Then men all came to a sudden stop when they saw Mooner and I standing there.

Les made his way forward demanding, "You okay Beautiful?"

I turned to look at him and asked, "What are you doing?"

Les grinned, "Saving you."

I looked around, "From what?"

Les took stock of the situation and I could see red creeping into his cheeks. "Well…uh….Bobby and I thought when you were pulled in and the door was shut…"

"Did you think to come knock on the door?"

Several of the guys rolled their eyes and one of the guys popped up with, "Everyone knows that's the last thing you want to do in a hostage situation."

I turned and glared in the direction of the speaker, "This isn't a hostage situation."

Bobby put a hand on my shoulder, "He's wanted for murder."

I nodded, "Yes. But he didn't do it. I knew there was more to this than what was in the file. Mooner said someone called and told him he was dead if he stepped out of the building. We have to take him someplace safe."

"Uh…jail!"

I wasn't sure who said it so I gave the group my best Burg glare, but before I could continue I heard the vague sound of a ticking clock. It sounded off a little and as I listened carefully, it reminded me of the ticking I heard the other night before my apartment went up in smoke. My eyes widened and I grabbed Mooner, "We have to get out of here. There's a bomb!"

I started dragging Mooner to the door and did my best to ignore the laughter from the guys. I don't know which one said, "Can you imagine that? She thinks she knows what a bomb sounds like before it goes off."

There was quiet for several seconds and then a deep booming voice yelled, "BOMB!"

All of a sudden I was lifted off my feet and carried through the air to the safety of the vehicles. I looked at the distance between the building and the vehicle we were currently behind and decided I wanted to be further away. I think the rest of the guys had the same idea because suddenly we were all on the move once again. We had just reached the farthest vehicle when there was a huge explosion and Mooner's building and three of the Rangemen SUV's went up in smoke. Within seconds I heard the sirens. When the fire trucks pulled up I saw the smiles on the firemen's faces the minute they saw me. I sighed as I saw Morelli's non-descript cop car pull in behind the fire trucks and knew I'd never hear the end of this.

Morelli climbed out of his car and headed in my direction with a smile on his face. I noticed the guys in black giving Joe the once over as he came over to where we were standing. Joe was shaking his head, "What did you do this time Cupcake?"

I saw Bobby and Les's eyes narrow at Morelli's greeting. I turned on Morelli and pushed against him. ""Buzz off Morelli. Go peddle your crap somewhere else."

Joe threw his head back and laughed before gathering me close and kissing my forehead. "Are you okay Steph?"

I nodded, "Mooner was the target. The guys can't really think he killed someone?"

Morelli flicked his gaze around as if checking to see if anyone was watching. "Most of us know it has to be a frame job, but the evidence is out there Cupcake."

"He said he got a call telling him if he left his building he was dead."

Morelli's eyes narrowed, "From the look of it if he stayed in the apartment he would have been dead too."

"Can you take him to your house and let him stay there? He needs some place safe."

Morelli started to shake his head no. I put my hands on his cheeks as a tear fell from my eye. Morelli groaned, "Aw Cupcake! That's playing dirty."

"Please?"

I watched as Morelli's jaw clenched and he seemed to be fighting an inner battle. After several long seconds he let out a rough sigh and growled, "Damn it Cupcake! That's not playing fair! Yes I'll take Mooner home with me."

I smiled and kissed Joe on the cheek. "Thanks Joe. Now is there anything you can tell me about the case to help me find out who's behind all this?"

Morelli threw his hands up in the air and turned. He grabbed Mooner's arm and muttered, "Let's go before she gets us in any more trouble."

I heard laughter behind me and turned to see the men in black all smiling widely. My eyes narrowed and I looked around at all the destruction before turning back to the guys. "Just out of curiosity, how are we getting back to Rangeman?"

Les looked at where our SUV had been parked and shrugged, "We'll split up in the remaining SUV's."

Les opened the back door of the SUV we were standing by and helped me into the back seat before climbing up into the vehicle himself. Bobby got in on the other side and I noticed Binkie and Cal got in the front. We headed back to Rangeman and in no time Binkie was pulling into the garage. He parked and we all got out and headed up to the 5th floor. I took the elevator and the guys took the stairs. I had just stepped off the elevator when I heard a deep voice demand, "My office! NOW!"

I wondered who he was talking to as no one was moving. Seconds later Tank stepped back into the doorway and said, "Brown! Santos! Stephanie! NOW!"

I looked at Bobby and Les and made my way towards Tank's office. For some reason it felt like being called to the principal's office when I was in school. For some reason I got called in there quite often. I sat on the sofa and was joined on either side by Bobby and Lester. Tank slammed his door and looked at us with narrowed eyes. "I'd like to know why our skip isn't in police custody and I don't have a body receipt in my hand."

Neither Bobby nor Les looked like they were venturing to answer so I met Tank's gaze and replied, "Mooner is in police custody. Joe Morelli took him to his home until we can find the answers we need."

Tank frowned, "What answers? We catch the skips, we return them to the system, we get paid. Its none of our business why they did it or if they did it."

I frowned, "Someone tried to kill Mooner. I don't think jail is the best place for him right now."

"About that. I thought you were supposed to go with these two yahoos and let them do all the talking? _So_, why is it they called in to say you had been pulled into the house and they needed backup?"

I shrugged, "They panicked?"

The silence was so eerie you could have heard a pin drop. All three men were glaring daggers at me. Tank strode over and bent over me. I think he was going for intimidation but I wasn't sure. He put his face inches from mine and said, "The guys here don't panic."

"Well apparently these two did just that. Mooner would never hurt me. He didn't show up for his court date because he was warned if he left the house he would be killed."

Tank sat down in the chair facing us and pinched the bridge of his nose. Suddenly he was growling and Bobby and Les were looking nervous. "Look Steph…." he looked up at me and sighed, "Do I have a chance of winning this one?"

I smiled, "You worry too much Big Guy. Mooner will stay with Morelli and I'll look into whose behind framing Mooner for the murder. If you want me to work with someone I would have no problem with that. As a matter of fact it might even help."

Tank nodded, "Sure thing Little Girl. Why don't you have Bobby and Lester give you a hand since they're the ones that started with you?"

I smiled and stood. "That would be great. Thanks Tank. I knew I could count on you."

I noticed as I walked out of his office that all three guys looked a little shell-shocked. For a couple of seconds I wondered what was bothering them, but then shrugged it off and went back to my desk so I could start looking into who it was that had framed Mooner for murder.

Tank's POV:

I sat there starring at Bobby and Lester, not knowing what had just happened. I shook my head and lowered it into my hands and groaned. "Ranger's going to kill me when he gets back."

Bobby reached over and patted my shoulder, "If its any consolation, I'm betting Ranger won't win against her either. Man she's lethal!"

Lester nodded, "Beautiful…..but lethal!"

I raised my head and looked at the guys, "Not a word of this to anyone else."

Bobby winced, "You think we want it getting around that a little white girl from the Burg bested us?"

Les chuckled, "Man its going to be fun watching her and Ranger go at it."

I tilted my head to the side and grinned, "Oh yeah!"

I gave Brown and Santos the job of helping Stephanie find the information she needed to find and keeping her safe. Then I grinned, "I can't wait to see her in the gym. Maybe we can get some payback there."

Bobby grinned, "I get to draw up a fitness and nutrition plan for her to follow."

His eyes were gleaming. It was a little scary. Les grinned, "I hope you'll count me in on her training."

Bobby nodded and they exchanged high-fives. Finally I sent them back to work and had them close my door on their way out. I took a deep sigh and prayed Ranger wouldn't bust my ass for hiring her. Fortunately for me Ranger's mission was still on-going so it would be a while before he returned home. I still had some time to get this under control.

Ranger's POV:

I read the telegram from my lawyer telling me the real estate I wanted had been lowered to the ball park of what I was willing to pay. I composed a short note informing my lawyer to buy the property. I thought about finally being able to move Rangeman forward in the direction I wanted it to go. I smiled a rare smile and thought about the look on my handler's face when I told him to go to hell instead of signing the new contract that would be waiting for me when I returned to Washington. This was my last mission and I couldn't wait to get started on my future. I folded the telegram and slipped it into my pocket before turning back to the task at hand. We still had a ways to go with this mission and I had a great reason for wanting it to go off without a hitch.

Unknown POV:

I smiled as I watched her. She had no clue I was the one behind all the things exploding around her. I knew she wouldn't be able to stay away from the puzzle if I framed her friend. I had carefully orchestrated everything. The cars, the apartments, the funeral home, and now this. She had no idea I was the one behind it all. I narrowed my eyes and watched as she was helped into the SUV. I couldn't wait till we reached the final move and I called check mate. Little Miss Perfect had an Ace up her sleeve. I'd show her.


	3. Dr Stephanie and Ms Hyde

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **_

Chapter 3: Dr. Stephanie and Ms. Hyde

Stephanie's POV:

I made some inroads into digging up the information on the case involving Mooner. Amazingly enough I found some pictures of the party and blew them up before printing them out. I added them to the file I had already started and did a couple other things before it was time for me to shut down my computer and call it a day. I thought about stopping by the gym on my way out but realized I didn't have the right clothes to wear for a workout. As a matter of fact I only had one more emergency outfit available before I was out of clothes. I dug out my phone and made a call.

When the call connected I heard, "Hey white girl. What's up?"

"I need to go shopping. Are you interested?"

"You kiddin'? I'm yo' girl if you going shopping."

I smiled, "Great! I'll pick you up on the way to the mall."

I shut down my computer and headed out for the elevator. Just as I was reaching the doors Tank spoke up from behind me. "Stephanie, hold up a minute."

I turned and waited for him to reach me. "What do you need Big Guy?"

I saw Tank momentarily pause at the nickname. "I just wanted to remind you about the exercise clause in your contract."

I smiled, "No worries. I'm headed to the mall now."

Tank gave me a puzzled frown, "What does heading to the mall have to do with exercising?"

I bit my lip and took the extra steps so I was right next to him and whispered, "I need to get the right clothes for exercising."

Tank's eyebrow rose and he just stared at me like he was afraid to ask the next question. I took pity on him and continued. "Remember the day you hired me?"

Tank gave a slight nod.

I shrugged, "The night before my apartment exploded. All my clothes went with the apartment."

Tank's eyes widened, "Shit Steph, I'm sorry. I didn't know that."

I nodded, "No reason why you would. I wasn't exactly advertising it."

"That explains the need for clothes." Tank took out a credit card and handed it to me. "Take this and you can charge up to $1000 for a new wardrobe."

I shook my head, "I can't do that. I have enough to take care of what I'll need, but thanks for the offer."

Tank nodded, "Alright. When you get done with you work out tomorrow" he paused to look at me as if saying 'you are going to exercise tomorrow, right?' "you can use the apartment on 7 to shower and change. It's the boss's apartment but with him gone he can't mind you using it."

I nodded, "Alright. I know you said there's a contraband rule for sweets, but if I'm going to exercise in the morning I'm going to need to bring something for breakfast."

Tank stared at me for a moment before he shook his head, "You'll have to bring something healthy. The no sweets is a firm rule."

I winced, "I'm not exactly friendly until I have my first Tastykake."

Tank grinned, "We'll chance it. No sweets!"

I sighed before giving in and I headed down to the garage. I stopped by Lula's and picked her up on my way to the mall. It was late afternoon when we walked into the mall and three hours later when we left the mall my car was totally crammed with clothes and accessories. We stopped at Cluck in a Bucket for dinner and then I dropped Lula off and headed to my parent's house. I was in luck because my dad was out when I pulled in and he helped me carry my bags into the house. I spent the evening washing and going over the plans for the house I'd bought with dad. He knew a contractor who could have the work done on the house within a couple of weeks. I called the owner and gave him the go ahead to get started. The sooner the work was done the sooner I could get away from my mother.

I headed up to my room a little early so I could pack a bag for the next day. I decided to wear black jeans and a dark, olive green t-shirt the next day so packed them in the bag along with everything I would need to get ready for work after my work out. It didn't take long to get to sleep, but I was plagued by dreams of Mooner being led to the gallows saying, "You have to save me Dudette! You're the only one who can figure out the puzzle. She's evil! Only you know who she is."

When my alarm went off at 5 a.m. I sat bolt upright in bed. I was breathing hard from the fright of the nightmare. I slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom so I could answer nature's call before brushing my teeth and pulling my hair back into a ponytail. When I was ready to head out I made my way out to my car and headed to Rangeman. I was hoping Tank would consider the peanut butter and olive sandwich healthy or we were going to have serious problems before the day even began. Not to mention this was the first day I would be going to work without having a Tastykake first. I was nervous about getting through the morning. I figured I could slip out at lunch time and pick up a treat so the afternoon would go better.

I pulled into the garage at Rangeman and was pleased to find a parking spot right beside the elevator. I grabbed my duffle bag and headed up to the second floor where the gym was. I'd noticed when Tank walked me through the first day that there were lots of towels out and figured I wouldn't need my own. I made my way over to the equipment I was familiar with and set my bag down. I noticed there were already a few guys in here exercising. I ignored them, preferring to concentrate on my own exercises. I stepped onto a treadmill and decided to start with a nice, slow paced walk. I had just started out when Bobby and Lester entered the gym smiling. Something about the way they were looking at me gave me pause.

Bobby checked over the machine and held his hand up for me to stop. I glared at him and asked, "What?"

Bobby held up his hands in surrender, "I just need to make sure you are getting the proper work out. I'm the company medic and have the task of over-seeing all the workouts and making sure everyone has the proper balance for a maximum workout. I also get to oversee everyone's nutrition."

I paused, "Tank didn't mention that."

Bobby grinned, "I'm sure it was an oversight on his part. Anyway, I just need to make some adjustments to the machine before you get started. Usually I weigh the guys before their first workout but since you are already here I'll trust you to give me your actual weight."

I glared at him. He just stood there staring back at me. I sighed and muttered, "I'm 5'7" tall and 115 pounds."

I noticed both Bobby and less looking me over before Les grinned and said, "I'd bet its closer to 120."

I continued to glare at him. Bobby nodded but said, "You could be right but I told her I'd trust what she told me."

Bobby did something to the treadmill and then grinned at me and said, "You're all set."

I started out trying to walk on the treadmill again but it wasn't moving. I turned back to Bobby and asked, "What the hell did you do to my treadmill? It won't even go!"

Bobby smiled, "I put in your height and weight so the treadmill could calculate how much effort you would need to put forth to get it going and keep it moving."

I stood and folded my arms over my chest. "I liked it just fine before so take it back out."

"I can't do that Steph."

About that time Tank walked into the gym and headed over in our direction. "How's it going Little Girl?"

I glared at Bobby, "Its not! Bobby sabotaged my treadmill so it won't go."

Bobby turned to Tank with an innocent look, "Sure it will as soon as she puts out the right effort."

Tank nodded, "Alright. Let's see what you got."

I shook my head. "It won't go."

Tank scratched his head, "Are you trying to walk or run? Walking won't do you any good. You have to start out running."

I narrowed my eyes at the three of them and grabbed onto the bars and tried running. The damn machine proved it was a traitor and started moving. Not only that, but every time I tried to slow down the belt would slow as well. I could only keep it going as long as I was running at a good pace. By the time the timer on the machine started beeping I was more than ready to crawl off. Unfortunately that was only the beginning of what the guys had in store for me. Bobby also had me do three miles on the stationary bike and another 3 miles on the rowing machine. The worst was I had to do a whole 5 minutes on the stair master. When I got off I was bent over gasping for breath. When Bobby told me that would be it for today all I could do was stand there bent over and breathe.

I finally stood and weaved my way over to my bag. I was getting ready to head to 7 so I could change when the guys started sniffing the air. I was hoping they weren't sniffing my peanut butter and olive sandwich. By now is was getting pretty strong. Tank's gaze narrowed on my bag, "You got peanut butter in there?"

My eyes widened, "Why?"

Bobby shook his head, "Peanut Butter is a big no no. Very unhealthy."

Tank motioned to my bag, "Might as well hand it over."

"Its my breakfast. You said no sweets. Its not sweets."

"I also said it had to be healthy."

"Okay, how about you make an exception today and I won't bring it again."

Tank shook his head. "Sorry Little Girl. I'll ask Ella to fix you something else."

I pouted, "But you already wouldn't let me have a Tastykake. Now you're saying I can't have my favorite sandwich. You don't know what you're doing. I get really cranky without my Tastykakes."

All three of them chuckled and Tank said, "We'll take our chances. Come on, give it up."

I opened my bag and handed him the sandwich. Tank gave it a look of disgust and threw it into a garbage can. Before I could even form a rescue plan, a slim, Hispanic guy a couple inches taller than me stepped into the room. He was dressed all in black and had a gang slogan tattooed onto his neck and a single tear tattooed under his eye. He looked to be in his early twenties. He grabbed the bag out of the trash can and tied it up before tossing it into the cart beside him and placing a new garbage bag in the trash can. I looked at the garbage bag in his cart wistfully as he left the room. I sent one more glare to the three men in front of me and stomped off. I got into the elevator and headed up to 7.

Although I had hated the exercise, I thoroughly loved the bathroom on 7. I took a leisure shower and shampooed my hair. The towels were the best I'd ever used. It didn't take me long to dress and when I went out to the kitchen with my things; I noticed a plate on the table with a note. The note read: Tank called and told me you needed something healthy for breakfast. Here is some fresh fruit and a bagel with cream cheese. I keep the fridge in the break room stocked with lunch options. If you have any special dietary needs please let me know and I will keep things stocked for you. I sighed as I sat down at the table. I couldn't very easily get upset with someone so nice. It wasn't her fault those three made me throw away my breakfast. I ate the fruit and after spreading cream cheese on the bagel I ate that too. I wasn't happy about it, but I ate it. It was going to be a bad enough day without the sugar, if I was hungry on top of that I had a feeling the guys wouldn't want to be around me.

After I finished my breakfast, I put the dishes in the sink and gathered my stuff and headed back down to 5. I had been working for about half an hour at my desk when I felt the headache come on. It was one of the worst ones I could ever remember having. It hurt to touch my hair even. Every little noise the guys made seemed to make it even worse and within an hour I wanted to kill them all. Lester stopped by my desk a little while later and asked if I had found out any more about Mooner.

I turned to Les and snarled, "Get out of my face before I rip you a new one."

Les paled, lifted his hands in surrender and backed away from me. Within a couple of minutes Tank was standing behind me and asked, "You feeling alright Steph?"

I didn't even turn around as I growled, "Get lost and leave me the fuck alone!"

I continued on with what I was doing until I was interrupted again. This time by Bobby. He used a condescending tone that irritated me no end as he asked, "Stephanie, how are you feeling?"

I'd had it! I stood and turned, advancing on him as he backed away. I roared, "How the fuck do you think I feel you asshole? I had to run my ass off to keep that damn machine working and then you had me do three other fucking machines besides. Then to add insult to injury, you and the peanut gallery made me trash my breakfast after telling me I couldn't have my Tastykake either for breakfast! You want to know how I'm feeling? I have the mother of all headaches and it hurts to touch my hair. I have a freaking migraine headache that's how I'm fucking doing." I reached out and grabbed hold of the hairs sticking out of the neck of his t-shirt and pulled a bunch out before adding, "Does _that_ give you a fucking clue to how I'm feeling?"

Suddenly I smelled chocolate. I turned, scanning the area until I saw the guy that had been on the desk in the Lobby my first day on the job. He stood a good 6'4" in height and weighed in about 260 pounds of solid muscle. He had his hair cropped close to his head and the deep brown color matched his eyes. He was a good looking guy like all the others that worked at Rangeman. He had a chocolate candy bar in his hand and when I met his gaze he looked like a deer caught in headlights. I stalked over to where he was standing and grabbed the chocolate bar. A hand came out as if to take my treat from me and I smacked it out of my way. I ripped the wrapped off the candy bar and took a bite. My eyes closed and I moaned in pleasure as I got my first taste of the chocolate goodness. I continued eating until the whole thing was gone. After swallowing the last of it, I sighed and opened my eyes. I looked around in confusion at all the guys standing around staring at me as if I were possessed.

I frowned and asked, "What?"

Bobby took a step in my direction, "Are you okay Stephanie?"

I shrugged, "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

I noticed that Bobby was bleeding just above his t-shirt and moved forward to see if he needed help. Bobby quickly moved back as if he had no intention of ever getting near me again. I frowned and told him, "You're bleeding. I was just going to see if you needed help."

Lester shook his head, "You don't remember tearing the hair out of his chest Beautiful?"

My eyes opened wide, I looked at the guys to see if they were putting me on but they looked serious. I shook my head, "Sorry. I don't remember anything like that."

Bobby nodded, "Maybe you could bring in your medical history tomorrow so I can put it in your file. You know, allergies, any medical conditions that might need watched."

I thought I heard someone say, "Psycho tendencies."

I glared in the direction of the voice and several of the guys stepped back. I turned back to Bobby and nodded. "Sure. I've got all my records at my parent's so I can grab them tonight. The only thing I'm aware of is I get kinda cranky when I don't eat my Tastykake for breakfast, but other than that I'm good."

I noticed that all the guys kept a wide berth between me and them for the rest of the day.


	4. We Used To Be Friends

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **_

Chapter 4: We Used To Be Friends

Stephanie's POV:

I decided if I was going to do this exercise thing then I needed to work at it daily. Once again I was up at 5 a.m. and headed in to Rangeman. I took the precaution of putting a couple Tastykakes in my purse and hoped the guys didn't sniff them out like they had my peanut butter and olive sandwich. I made my way into the gym and recognized a few of the guys in the gym. Binkie and Cal were there as well as Bobby and Lester. As I entered the gym I had a vague recollection of one of the guys having a chocolate bar the day before. The guy was over working on a machine. I made my way over to Bobby and motioned to the other man. I waved at the guy as I recalled him being on the front desk my first day on the job, and asked, "I thought there was a no sweet rule? How's come he had a chocolate bar?"

Bobby gave me a leery look and replied, "Junior found the candy bar and was bringing it to turn in to Tank."

"Oh." I turned and looked around the room before heading over to one of the treadmills. I tried to get the machine to run but it seemed as if something was wrong with it.

Les called to me from the safety of half a gym away and said, "You have to put in the code Bobby gave you yesterday Beautiful."

I hung my head and thought things over for several minutes before I lifted my head and glared at Les and Bobbie before I entered the darn code and started running to make the damn machine go. When the timer beeped it seemed like I had more energy left than I'd had yesterday. I rode the stationary bike, the rowing machine and then I tackled the Stairmaster. When I got done I was breathing hard but was still upright. I noticed there was a small group forming in the gym and I headed over to join them. I smiled at Bobby and told him I must be getting used to the routine already.

Bobby nodded, "That's great. I can increase the difficulty at any time."

I sent him a glare and told him, "Don't you dare."

A couple of the guys backed up a couple steps. Les looked at my bag and asked, "What did you bring for breakfast Beautiful?"

I bit my lip because I didn't want to admit I had brought sweets into the building. Looking at Bobby I just couldn't lie to him. I sighed, "I brought 2 Butterscotch Krumpets."

Les gave a disgusted look, "What are those?"

I narrowed my eyes and muttered, "Tastykakes."

Bobby's eyes lit up, "Why didn't you say so. You okay with just 2 or do you need more than that?"

I shook my head, "No, I never eat more than 2 for breakfast unless its that time of the month. Otherwise I'm good."

Bobby nodded. I didn't think anything of it and headed up to 7 so I could shower and change. I dressed in black jeans and a black t-shirt, and after brushing my hair I pulled it back in a ponytail. I figured I'd eat my breakfast at my desk since it seemed like the guys weren't going to hassle me about the Tastykakes. I opened the first package and just as I was getting ready to take a bite my phone rang. In trying to grab it before it stopped ringing, I dropped my Tastykake. I looked forlornly down at my wasted treat and said, "Shit!"

Les popped up over the partition and asked, "What's the matter Beautiful?"

"I was trying to get my phone before it stopped ringing and dropped my Tastykake."

The next thing I knew there were dozens of Tastykake boxes being pointed in my direction. My eyes opened wide and I asked, "What's this?"

Tank cleared his throat and I noticed he had joined us. He was holding a box out to me as well. "Brown thought it would be beneficial for all of us to have a box in case of emergencies."

I smiled weakly as I looked around. "What happened to the no sweets rule?"

The guys just stood there staring at me for several seconds. I smiled and nodded, "Right. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Tank grinned, "Right Little Girl. Take your pick."

I accepted a Butterscotch one from Tank's box since they were my favorite. I opened the package and took a big bite, moaning in pleasure. I noticed all the guys were moving around as if to get more comfortable. I headed back to my desk and started working. As I walked away, I thought I heard one of the guys say, "I'd rather meet a pissed off Ranger on the mats than deal with Stephanie when she hasn't had a Tastykake. Ranger's a walk in the park compared to what she did to Brown."

It didn't take me long to dig up more information on the people at the party Mooner had been to. I even got some dirt on the murder victim. I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach and decided to take a look at the photos. I pulled them out of the file and looked them over closely. I vaguely recognized one of the women from somewhere but I couldn't place her. I put the photos back in the file and decided I should talk with the people at the party to see if I could learn anything of interest. I also figured I should drop by Morelli's and check on Mooner. I looked at my in box that seemed to have grown a whole other body overnight and sighed. I wondered if Tank would let me go with my plans. I headed to his office and walked in.

Tank looked up with a glower on his face. The second he saw it was me he stopped glowering and smiled, "What can I do for you Stephanie?"

"I was thinking about checking up on Mooner to see how he's doing and I'd like to visit some of the people at that party to see if I can learn anything more about the murder victim. I'd like to see if anyone else had a possible motive."

Tank nodded, "Alright. I'll have Bobby and Lester go with you. Oh, by the way, you'll need to stop by the gun range today and work with Vince."

I raised my hand in acknowledgement on my way out of the office. Les's cubicle was right next to mine, so when I went to grab my purse I asked Les if he was busy. He looked up with a grin telling me, "Bobby and I are headed out with you Beautiful. I just got a message from Tank."

Lester stood and once I had my bag we headed to collect Bobby on our way to the garage. It didn't take long for us to reach Morelli's house. As we neared the front door it opened and Morelli stood in the doorway. He looked a little frazzled…alright, he looked a lot frazzled, but I still thought Mooner was safer here than on his own. I smiled and sent Joe a finger wave. His expression only got grimmer.

"Why are you here Cupcake?"

"I wanted to check on Mooner and maybe ask him some questions."

Morelli stepped back so we could enter. Mooner's eyes lit up when we entered the living room. "Dudette! You've come to save me!"

"Not exactly, just see how you're doing and ask some questions."

Mooner sat back on the sofa dejected. Bob jumped up on the sofa and laid his head across Mooner's lap. "I knew it was too good to be true."

I sat on the coffee table in front of him and asked him the questions that had been rolling around in my head. Mooner's responses only muddied the waters even more. I managed to pick up a couple details that had my senses humming but for the most part I figured I wouldn't get any more help from Mooner. I stood and said, "I'm working on finding who set you up, but in the meantime I need you to stay with Joe and do as he says."

"Sure Dudette. Just wish he was more fun is all. He's got lots of rules you know."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah. Too many to live with on a daily bases, but you'll get out of here as soon as I find out who really killed the guy so hang in there."

I didn't hear Joe mutter so only Les and Bobby would hear, "Can I help it if I thought the peanut butter was no good and threw it out? It had stuff in it. How was I to know it was bits of olive? I just made a simple rule asking her to use a clean knife when she got into the peanut butter and all of a sudden it was world war three. How was I to know it was_ that_ time of the month and she had only had 2 Tastykakes."

Joe walked us to the front door and I was about to tell him goodbye when the SUV we had arrived in suddenly went boom and lifted 3 feet in the air before coming back down engulfed in flames. Joe threw back his head and started laughing. Bobby and Lester stood there in stunned shock. I stomped my foot and yelled, "Damn it! I'm getting pretty tired of being fucked with. If I find out who it is they better run and hide because I'll be going after them."

Joe was still chuckling as he asked, "What are you going to do? Stop eating Tastykakes for a day or two before confronting them? That would be enough to scare the hell out of me."

I turned and glared at him, "Very funny."

I pulled out my phone and found the number for Rangeman. "Hello, Rangeman Enterprises, this is Manny speaking. May I help you?"

"Hi Manny. This is Stephanie Plum. I am out in the field with Lester and Bobby and our vehicle was blown up."

There was stunned silence for several seconds before, "Uh, was anyone hurt?"

I looked at Bobby and Les and they still seemed a little out of it. "No one's hurt but Bobby and Les are a little stunned at the moment. Could you get us a ride?"

"Where are you at?"

I gave him Joe's address and he promised to have someone right there. By the time the black SUV pulled into the curb, Bobby and Lester were feeling livelier. I was surprised to see Tank get out of the vehicle and after he checked out the scene of the burning SUV he jogged over to where we were standing. He looked the guys over and shook his head. Then he turned to me and asked, "You okay?"

I nodded. "Yes. Just a little irritated, this seems to keep happening."

Tank shrugged, "This is only the second time."

Lester shook his head. "According to Morelli, if we add Mooner's apartment building and the three SUV's plus this one, the count is up to 13 vehicles, 4 apartments, a funeral home and a restaurant. All within the last 6 months."

Tank's eyes narrowed on me. "You didn't tell me any of that when I interviewed you."

"You didn't ask me."

"Any clue who might be targeting you Little Girl?"

I shook my head. "No clue but I'm getting tired of it."

Tank nodded, "Alright. Let's head back to the office and I'll put a team on this. There may be no connection to the problems you've been having, but we've never had an issue like this before. You do know Mooner so maybe someone set him up thinking you might get involved. Our three vehicles would have been collateral damage that day, but this would be more like targeting you specifically. I'll have Hector take a look at the remains." Tank turned to look at me, "I'm also going to put a tracker on your vehicle, one on your person and you'll have a shadow till I'm convinced we have the bastard responsible."

We were heading back to Rangeman when my stomach started to growl. I tried to ignore it and hoped the guys couldn't hear it. Unfortunately I wasn't to be spared. Les was the first to hear it and asked, "What the hell was that?"

I acted dumb. A second later when it growled a little louder Bobby piped up, "Is that what you heard Les?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds like someone's stomach growling."

The guys all exchanged looks and then Lester turned to me with a smile on his face, "Damn Beautiful! That's some beast you have there."

I went for outraged, "Who says it was _my _stomach? There are three other people in this vehicle."

Bobby shook his head, "But we've known each other for years and none of our stomachs have _ever_ growled like that!"

I rolled my eyes, "Any chance we can stop by Pino's on the way back to Rangeman?"

Bobby winced, "Pino's is on the banned list."

I turned and stared at him. Bobby's eyes widened and after a second he added, "However, I've been reconsidering lifting the ban recently."

I noticed Tank was silently shaking in the driver's seat. We stopped at Pino's and all three of the guys got out with me. Tank said, "It would be better if we dine in rather than take it back to Rangeman. The other guys might get jealous."

I recognized several of the customers since most of them were police and firemen. I sent them a finger wave and followed the guys to the back booth. I ordered a Meatball sub and a piece of tiramisu. When our food came, I noticed the guys all stuck with the healthy rabbit food of salads. I took my first bite of sub and moaned in pleasure as the tastes hit my mouth. Each bite was just as good as the first. The tiramisu was even better. I enjoyed every bite and when I opened my eyes after I had finished my last bite, I looked around at the glazed looks on the guy's faces. I frowned and asked, "What's wrong with you guys?"

Each of them wiggled around adjusting themselves muttering nothing was wrong. The waitress brought the check and as I went to pick it up, Tank grabbed it and said, "I got this." He handed Bobby the keys and said, "You three head out to the truck."

I followed Bobby and Les outside and while Bobby stood with me near the building, Les checked out the SUV to make sure there were no surprises. We were waiting for Les to get done when I noticed Mary Lou Stankovic pulling into a parking space and getting out of her car. She smiled when she saw me and headed my way. Mary Lou and I had gone to school together and had been best friends forever. Six years ago she married Lenny and our friendship was shot to hell when Mary Lou walked into a pass Lenny was making when he cornered me at their wedding. To say I was surprised to see her smiling at me would be putting things mildly.

Mary Lou stopped a few inches before me and said, "Well if it isn't Stephanie Plum. I see you are still surrounding yourself with every man you meet. Hope these two's wives don't mind. You really need to be more careful. I hear you've been blowing things up left and right."

Both Bobby and Les stiffened and placed themselves slightly in front of me. Their eyes pinned Mary Lou and they were intimidating in their manner towards her. Mary Lou's smile slipped and she backed away saying, "Well, I need to go pick up dinner. Lenny and the boys will be getting hungry. I'd say it was nice seeing you….but _my_ mother told me never to tell lies."

Once she had headed into Pino's, Bobby turned to me and asked, "What was that all about?"

I sighed, "We used to be best friends. Her groom made a pass at me at their wedding reception and she came in right in the middle of it. He of course said I was coming onto him and she chose to believe him."

The guys shook their heads. Les put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Beautiful, I haven't known you long but I know you would never treat a friend like that."

I smiled sadly at Les, "No. And she should know that too." I shrugged. "Its all water under the bridge now. She hasn't talked to me for 6 years, I'm just surprised she broke her silence now."

I didn't see the look Bobby and Lester exchanged as I got into the back of the SUV. They were still talking when Tank came out and the three of them talked for several minutes before joining me.

_For those of you wondering when Ranger will get back, it will probably be at least 2 or 3 chapters. Stephanie will be in her house before Ranger returns to Trenton. In the meantime the guys at Rangeman will be getting to know Stephanie and she will be working on meeting the requirements Tank set forth. _


	5. Emergencies and Funerals

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 5: Emergencies and Funerals

Stephanie's POV:

We put visiting the other party goers on hold till another day and instead Tank suggested I head to the gun range and use the extra time to practice. I grimaced but nodded and headed to the armory. When I walked through the door a man in black SWAT gear made his way over to me with a smile on his face. He stood 6'1" tall and at a guess I'd say he weighed close to 240 pounds of solid muscle. His black hair was slightly longer than most of the other guys but it was still short. He had the most piercing gray eyes I had ever seen. He looked friendly enough right now, but I would hate to meet him in some dark back alley. His coloring put me in mind of my grandfather Plum's and I couldn't help but wonder if this guy in front of me was Italian.

He held out his hand and when I shook it he said, "I'm Vince. I run the armory among other things."

I smiled, "Hey Vince. I'm Stephanie Plum. Please call me Stephanie or Steph."

Vince nodded, "Uh, what did you have for breakfast today?"

I frowned, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Vince swallowed visibly and said, "Uh…never mind." He turned towards the gun range and I followed him. He got me set up in one of the sections and handed me a box of shells. I loaded the gun and put on the safety glasses and the ear protection. Once I was ready I turned to the paper target and pretended it was the person responsible for blowing up things in my life. When Vince brought the target in, his eyes widened. "Shit girl. You're a natural."

I shrugged, "I was motivated."

Vince nodded, "Alright. You have your gun down, now let's get you proficient on some other weapons."

I spent the rest of the afternoon shooting a variety of weapons that Vince put in my hands. When I was done my arms were sore and I was ready for a hot soak in the tub. I said goodbye to Vince and agreed to return in a couple of days. I headed to the garage and climbed into my car. I noticed I had a tail when I left the garage and just to check it was supposed to be there I called Tank. He picked up on the second ring.

"Yo."

"Hey Tank. Stephanie here. I was just wondering if the tail you were talking about was starting already?"

"You picked up a tail?"

"As soon as I left the Rangeman garage."

"How did you know they were following you?"

"Its a big, black SUV with two guys in it."

It sounded like Tank growled but I couldn't be sure. "Yes. That would be the tail I put on you. If you see another one then its not part of the detail."

"Is something wrong Tank?"

"No, of course not. Just that the guys were supposed to go undetected."

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped, "Sorry Tank. But if you want the guys to go undetected then you need to have a vehicle that blends into the background."

"Alright Little Girl. We'll discuss how the guys can better blend in tomorrow. Right now just let them make sure you are safe at your parent's. They'll watch over you tonight so you'll be safe."

I had a sudden thought but figured I could talk to Tank about that tomorrow. I pulled into the drive at my parent's and headed for the front door. I was nearly there when I had a sense that someone was watching me. I stopped and turned, trying to see into the night. I felt goosebumps on my arms and shivered. I looked around but couldn't detect which direction the danger was coming from. I turned and walked into the house. As I made my way into the living room, I heard a voice I hadn't heard in several years. I stopped in the doorway and watched as my sister Valerie turned in her seat on the sofa and jumped up at my entrance.

"Stephanie! Oh little sister it is so good to see you again after all these years."

She hurried over and wrapped her arms around me. I shuddered at the suffocating feel of her arms around me. We were never close. Little Miss Perfect was always doing everything she could to get me in trouble with mother and goodness knows I didn't need any help in that direction. I did my best not to react to her embrace. The last thing I needed was for mom to be on my case. I smiled and replied, "This is a surprise Val. Did Steve and the girls come with you?"

Val laughed that fake little girl laugh she always did and said, "Goodness no. The girls stayed with Steve so I could have a nice break. They will be joining me in a couple of weeks though."

Mom called us in to dinner and I did my best to hold my tongue, letting Val do all the talking. Grandma was a hoot during dinner and it was all I could do not to burst out laughing. As she was helping mom bring the fried chicken in I saw her drop a piece of chicken on the floor before she picked it up again and set it on the plate. Val grabbed the plate before daddy even had a chance and I smiled as Val picked the very piece grandma had purposely dropped. My dad winked at me and I smiled back.

Val kept up a running commentary through the whole meal about how wonderful her life was in California and how much she and Steve had there. Neither mom or Val noticed grandma add some wax fruit to Val's plate. That is until Val picked up one of the grapes and put it in her mouth. She bit down on the wax piece of fruit and her eyes widened in panic. She couldn't get her mouth back open. Mom rushed around the table to help her and in her attempt to get Val's mouth opened, she got her finger between Val's teeth and when she lost her grip Val bit down on her finger causing her to scream in agony. My dad sat there with his shoulders shaking as he continued eating his dinner. Grandma was pretending to look at a non-existent spider web in the corner of the doorway and I was watching in wide-eyed horror as the situation went from bad to worse.

When dad finished eating he shook his head and said, "I'll get the car. You two get out front and I'll take you to the E.R."

Mom and Val both glared in my direction even though I had nothing to do with it. Grandma and I helped mom and Val out to the car and then I took grandma in my car to the hospital. I noticed as we headed out that our tail was right behind us. It took nearly three hours at the emergency room before the doctor could pry mom's finger out of Val's mouth and then pry the wax grape out of her mouth. When they came out of the emergency room to the waiting room, mom had her finger bandaged and instructions on what she could and couldn't do with it for the next few weeks. Seems Val bit her with enough force to break the finger. Val had her jaw wired shut because in order to get the finger out of her mouth as well as the grape, it was necessary to break her jaw. Grandma felt so contrite about what she had done that she took hold of mom's fingers and squeezed as she hugged her and Val, patting Val's cheek as she apologized. Unfortunately for mom one of the fingers she had hold of was the broken one. From the look on Val's face the cheek patting was excruciating.

Dad led mom and Val out to his car and drove them back to the house and I took grandma with me. Although I wasn't looking forward to sharing a room with Val, I was betting that's how things would shape up. So to say I was surprised when grandma said Val should stay with her and mom agreed I was stunned. I was asleep the minute my head hit the pillow and I was up and ready before anyone else was even stirring. Just before I was ready to head downstairs, dad came out of his room. I paused for a second, biting my lip and then asked, "Is there any way of getting the contractor to hurry up the remodel of the house?"

Dad chuckled, "Don't worry Pumpkin. I'll see what I can do."

I kissed his cheek and headed down the stairs. I noticed the black SUV was slightly different than the one sitting there last night and guessed the guys had been relieved. I sent them a finger wave on my way to my car and headed to Rangeman. I smiled when I saw the spot next to the elevators and in no time I was headed for the gym. I didn't even fight it today, I put in the code Bobby had given me and I was off and running on the treadmill. I recognized Junior and Binkie as well as Vince. I sent them all a finger wave and they nodded in return. Just as I was finishing up my workout I saw the same guy, I later learned his name was Hector that had changed out the garbage bags the day my sandwich got trashed. I nodded to him and he grinned in response.

I headed up to 7 and got ready for the day. Today I had blue jeans, a pink tank top, and a white, short-sleeved cotton blouse in my bag as well as socks and my Doc Martins. I brushed my hair out and added the styling gel, taming it and leaving it down. I added makeup and then gathered my things and headed downstairs to my desk. I took the Tastykakes out of my purse and dug in. I moaned with my first bite. I was surprised to hear someone swear. I stood up and looked around. My eyes widened at the guy standing there mopping at what was obviously spilt liquid on his black cargo pants. The man stood close to 6'5" tall and looked like a Stegosaurus. This guy was huge, but not in an awkward dopey way. He was just as hot as the rest of the guys that worked here. His brown hair had the same buzz cut as Tank's and most of the others. I asked if he was okay and he blushed. My eyes widened as I watched him stammer that he was fine. I sat down and went back to my Tastykake. I heard Les snicker and tease Hal that would teach him for letting my moans get to him. I peeked over the cubicle and noticed Les had a cup of coffee in his hands as well. I smiled and put my treat in my mouth and let out the most sensuous moan I could manage. I saw the cup in Les's hands tip and then he was swearing as well while he tried to mop the hot liquid from his shirt. Hal smiled and teased him about letting my moans get to him.

I sat back down and finished my breakfast. I had just taken my last bite when Tank's voice came booming from his office, "Brown, Santos, Hector, Stephanie, Cal, Binkie, Hal, and Vince. Conference room 1 in 5 minutes."

I stood and followed the rest of the guys into the conference room. I sat in the most comfortable chair in the whole room. I was surprised none of the other guys took the seat, and they seemed a little excited because I _had_ taken the seat. I was starting to wonder if the seat held a special meaning when Tank entered the room and headed towards where I was sitting without looking up from the report in his hands. He reached the chair and must have sensed all was not right and looked up. My eyes widened but he just winked at me and took the seat next to me. You could have heard a pin drop. The guys, all except Hector had their mouths open in stunned disbelief.

Tank tossed the report on the table, "Hector went over the remains of the SUV at Morelli's. Seems someone threw a live grenade underneath of it and that's what blew it up."

When the report was set in front of me, I read over it quickly before returning it to Tank. Just as I was thinking the meeting was over, Hal spoke up, "Last night was fairly quiet once we returned from the hospital."

Tank's head lifted sharply, "Why were you at the hospital?"

Hal blushed as his gaze met mine, "Uh, Ms. Plum's mother and sister apparently had accidents."

I grimaced at the Ms. Plum and raised my hand to Hal, "Please, call me Stephanie or Steph."

Hal's cheeks turned even redder. Les laughed and asked, "What did you do to your mom and sister Beautiful?"

I turned a glare on Lester that had him backing up quickly and stumbling over an apology. I lifted my chin and replied, "I didn't do anything to them. But that doesn't stop my mom from blaming me anyway. My sister Val got a hold of a wax grape and bit down on it without realizing it. When my mom tried to get it out of her mouth, she lost her grip and Val bit down again only my mom's finger was inside her mouth. We took them to the hospital and the doctor had to break Val's jaw to get mom's finger out. Mom's finger was broken and now Val's mouth is wired shut."

When I got done with my story I looked at the guys to see all of them silently shaking with laughter in their chairs. I shrugged and waited for them to get done. Suddenly my phone rang and I dug around in my purse to find it. I had just grabbed it when it stopped ringing. Before I could put it away it started ringing again and I answered the call. "Hello?"

"Stephanie, this is your mother calling."

I rolled my eyes, "Right ma, I got that already."

"Don't get fresh with me young lady! I'm still your mother and you will show me respect."

"Right ma, what do you need?"

"Your grandma Mazur went to the funeral home before I could stop her. I need you to go over there and make her come home. It's bad enough we have people calling left and right about all your escapades, I don't need your grandma adding to the mix."

"I'm not exactly free to just drop everything and go. I'm at work."

"Don't give me any of your lip young lady. If you want any more desserts in this house you will go get your grandmother."

"I'll see what I can do mom."

I replaced my phone in my purse and let out a sigh. Tank was looking at me with a raised eyebrow, "Something wrong Stephanie?"

"My mom is demanding I go get my grandma from the funeral home. She's afraid grandma will cause a scene."

I heard snickers and looked around the table to see Bobby and Lester trying to hold back their mirth. My eyes narrowed and I had a sudden wicked thought. I met Tank's gaze, "As a matter of fact, it might not be a bad idea to check out the funeral home. After all, I did get the blame for burning down their last funeral home. I didn't do anything but they still blame me for it. I was trying to stop grandma from opening the casket and she accidentally knocked over the burning candle into the oil fountain. Next thing we know the place is in flames."

Tank's eyes narrowed, "So these owners might have a grudge against you?"

I nodded. "Maybe Les and Bobby could go with me to retrieve grandma."

Tank nodded, "That's fine. Binkie and Vince will be your shadows."

Bobby and Les had suddenly quit laughing when they found out they were going with me to the funeral home. I kept the smile to myself as I stood and looked at them, "You two ready?"

Bobby nodded, "Sure Steph. Do you mind if I drive today?"

I shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me."

We headed to the garage. I took the elevator and the guys took the stairs. It didn't take us long to get to the funeral home. When I got to the door my way was barred by the bouncer. When Bobby and Lester stepped up to him he slunk backwards and welcomed us. I smiled and said, "I think my grandma might be here. Have you seen her anywhere?"

The guys face paled and he slumped on the floor. Bobby checked him over and shook his head. "He's out cold."

I nodded, "Grandma's been known to instill fear into the strongest males."

Both Bobby and Lester were grinning and I had the feeling they didn't believe me. Suddenly behind me I heard, "What happened to that one?"

I turned to my grandma and sent her a finger wave. She smiled wide and asked, "Did you off this one baby girl?"

I rolled my eyes, "No grandma. He fainted when I told him I thought you were here."

Grandma's smile grew even wider. She nodded her head and headed into one of the slumber rooms. At that moment one of the owners came by and I asked who was in that slumber room. He told me the name and my eyes widened in horror. Bobby grabbed my arms as I swayed and asked, "What is it Steph?"

Lester put a hand on my shoulder. I panicked trying to figure out how to get my grandma out of that room. Les gave me a serious look and asked, "Beautiful?"

I turned to the guys and said, "We gotta stop her. The deceased was dismembered so the casket is closed. Grandma is going to get that casket open."

Les and Bobby smiled and patted my shoulders. "Don't worry Steph. We'll get her out of there."

I gave them a wide-eyed look, "She can be sneaky when she wants to be."

The guys patted my shoulders again and told me they would take care of everything. I followed them into the slumber room and they made good time getting to grandma. Just as Les was getting ready to take grandma's arm, she turned and gave him a once over. I watched as she moved her dentures around in her mouth and winked at Les before her hand moved and she grabbed his ass. My eyes opened wide and it was all I could do not to laugh. Bobby didn't even try to restrain his laughter which was his downfall. Grandma was an equal party grabber and his ass was grabbed as well. While the guys were distracted grandma went back to the casket and lifted the lid. How she got the sucker unsealed was a mystery to me but she managed it. I saw grandma shrug as if seeing one dead body was just like any other. She turned and made her way over to me.

A woman stepped up to the casket and screamed as she looked on the naked body of the deceased. It was obvious even from where I stood that the body had been sewed back together. The widow threw herself over the body and started wailing and the phones were out taking pictures. Bobby and Les were surrounded by a group of screaming and wailing women and I noticed a couple of the ladies had taken a page out of grandma's book and were grabbing their asses.

When my phone rang I fished it out of my purse and noticed it was my mother calling. I rolled my eyes and met grandma's gaze, "You ready to go back home now grandma?"

Her eyes were twinkling, "Sure. You giving me a ride with them there hot studs you have with you?"

I looked to where Bobby and Les were making their way over to us with scowls on their faces. Without turning away from the guys I replied, "Sure. But no more wandering hands. I have to work with these guys and one of them is in charge of my exercise and diet."

Grandma patted my arm, "Okay Steph. I'll be good."

I hugged her and threaded my arm through hers as we headed out to the SUV.


	6. A Distraction and a Warning

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 6: A Distraction and a Warning

Unknown POV:

My eyes narrow as I watched her exit the funeral home with grandma and those men in black. I smile as I think of her reaction to the little surprise I have in store for her. I'm a little frustrated because I couldn't get close enough to plant the bomb on the SUV. That's okay, she usually took her car out anyway during the day and I could get to it easy enough. I let myself think of the day that I revealed myself to her. Right before I sent her away forever. After all these years I'd finally have all of his attention. He'd be all mine. I sighed as I walked closer. Tempting fate.

Stephanie's POV:

As we were leaving the funeral home I was surprised to see Little Miss Perfect, Aka Mob Barbie, Aka Terry Grizzoli. Terry was 5'10" tall with a model slim body and gloriously straight blonde hair that reached halfway down her back. She also had the coldest brown eyes I'd ever seen. Terry was two years ahead of me in school, she was the same age as Joe Morelli and all through high school they were sweethearts. Then after graduation Joe enlisted in the Navy and on his way out of town he dropped by the Tasty Pastry and asked me to go for a drive with him. He stopped by Pino's and picked up two Meatball subs and then drove out to Lookout Point. We ate our subs and then Morelli had some pie for dessert before showing me what men and women did when they got together. I have to say he left quite an impression because no one yet had managed to make me feel quite as good. Unfortunately, as good as Joe was in bed we had nothing in common outside of it. We wanted different things for our futures and I wasn't willing to put my dreams on hold so I could help him achieve his.

My first run in with Terry was 2 days after Morelli had left. She'd tried to intimidate me with her Mob connections, but I met her gaze and refused to back down. We agreed to stay out of each other's space and left it at that. Although we didn't go out of our way to see each other, we didn't try to avoid each other either. Terry came to a stop in front of us and held out an envelope. "Morelli asked me to drop this off with you."

I went to take the envelope but Bobby intercepted it. Terry smiled, "Don't worry. It's not a bomb. If I wanted her dead there are several ways to make that happen and no one would be the wiser. After all, my uncle is Vito Grizzoli."

Bobby nodded, "Still, never hurts to be too careful."

Terry smiled, "I've delivered what I came to." She looked over the SUV, "Sure you don't want a bomb squad to look it over before you get inside?"

Les took out the keys and pressed a couple buttons. He grinned, "We're good. No one has touched it and no object has come close to it."

I noticed Terry looking at the gadget in Les's hand. Suddenly she looked up and our eyes locked. We stared at each other for several moments before she smiled an turned away, tossing a wave over her shoulder. Les helped grandma into the SUV and then the rest of us got in. When we got to my parent's house I walked into the house with grandma. My mom came out of the kitchen glaring at me. She looked at both of us and then turned and went back into the kitchen. I kissed grandma's cheek and told her I'd see her later and then went out to join Les and Bobby. In no time we were pulling into the Rangeman garage. I stopped at the elevator and held my hand out to Bobby.

Bobby shook his head, "I'm having Hector give this the once over. Once we're sure it's not dangerous to you then you'll be able to open it."

I nodded. He made sense with his explanation and the last thing I wanted was something else exploding in my face. It was bad enough I was going to have to go home to my mother tonight. I took the elevator up to 5 and Bobby and Les took the stairs of course. Bobby said they were stopping off on 3 where the electronics lab was. I started working on the searches that were in my in box and had several done when Tank called me into his office. I was just getting ready to stand up and head there when something on my computer screen caught my eye. Damn! That was the answer! I quickly printed out the information and ran to Tank's office. Just as I reached the door Tank stepped into the doorway, probably to see what was keeping me.

I bounced off Tank's chest and would have fallen on my ass if he hadn't caught me. "Whoa Little Girl. Where's the fire?"

I looked up to see him grinning at me. I smiled and handed him the pages I had printed out. "I would have been here sooner, but this caught my eye. I think this is the answer to who killed the guy Mooner was arrested for killing."

Tank took the pages and looked at what I had found. He led me into his office and shut the door. He read through everything and then lifted his head and asked, "You think this guy might have committed the murder."

I nodded. Tank looked down again and then nodded, "It has merit. Now you just have to prove it. We can help with that. This guy is worth $50,000 to us when we return him to the system. Once we have him in custody we can ask him a few questions."

"How are you going to nab him?"

"From what you have here he likes to frequent Streaks Bar. We'll make a plan to grab him there."

"Aren't you taking a big risk with all the people in the bar and all?"

"You got a better idea?"

I shrugged, "What if I went into the bar and got him to walk out with me?"

Tank's eyes narrowed on me. "You think you can do that?"

I smiled, "Never hurts to try."

Tank nodded, "Alright. We'll head to the bar at 9 p.m. According to this that's the time he usually shows up. I'll arrange it so we have a couple guys inside in case you run into trouble."

I nodded. "Can I change here? My mother would have a heart attack if I went out in the kind of outfit I'm going to need to distract this guy."

Tank nodded, "You can use Ranger's apartment to change before and after so you don't have to worry about your mom seeing you come home in those clothes either."

"I'll need to make a trip to Quaker Bridge Mall to get the right wardrobe."

"Take Hal and Vince. I need Bobby and Les for the planning session."

"Okay."

I headed out of Tank's office and saw Hal was at his desk. I walked over to him and said, "Tank said I should ask you and Vince to go with me to the mall so I can pick up an outfit for tonight."

Hal blushed and nodded. He lifted his phone and called Vince to meet us in the garage. I headed for the elevator and Hal surprised me by joining me. We rode down to the garage in silence and when we stepped out of the elevator, Vince was waiting for us beside a black Explorer. I got in the back and told Vince that we needed to stop by the Bonds office so we could pick up Lula.

Lula was an ex-hooker turned file clerk. She decided she had a longer life expectancy off the streets. Lula was my age and she'd gone to the same high school I did, and like Mooner she was a friend. So when she needed a legit job, I blackmailed my pervert of a cousin into hiring her to do filing. Of course that didn't make Connie Rizzoli happy, because Lula was a hell of a file clerk and ran rings around her. Vinnie kept telling Connie if she didn't step it up he was giving her job to Lula. Every time I entered the bonds office Connie got a case of the glares and spent her time glaring daggers at me. Last time I was in the office the glares had escalated to muttered threats because Connie found out I worked at Rangeman and Connie had the hots for Ranger, whoever the hell he was.

I told the guys I'd be back in a minute and headed into the office to grab Lula. Once we were in the Explorer, Vince headed for the mall. Three hours later we were on our way to drop Lula off when Tank called Vince to let him know he was needed back at the office ASAP. He decided to take Lula with us and arrange for one of the guys to run her by the Bonds office. When we pulled into the garage, we all got out and Manny was there to give Lula a ride. She stepped out of the SUV and folded her arms over her ample chest. Vince growled in frustration and told Hal to handle it as he made for the stairs to get him upstairs before Tank had the chance to call him again.

Lula glared at Hal, "I ain't goin' nowhere till I see the Bat Cave."

My eyes opened wide, "I thought you were shitting me about all that Bat Cave talk."

"Nuh uhn. Girl I tol' you when you said you got hired here that I expected to see the Bat Cave. Now I got my chance I ain't leaving till I see it."

I knew Lula. I also knew that she could be damn stubborn when she wanted something bad enough. I looked at Hal and sighed, I leaned in and whispered, "Any chance you'll look the other way while I take her up to 7 with me so I can get changed and then I'm sure she'll go with Manny."

Hall looked to Manny and their eyes kinda bugged out. Hal turned to me and said, "Ranger would kill us."

I bit my lip and stepped in close to Hal. I smiled up at him and flirted just a tad, batting my eyelashes. Hal blushed and I could see Manny's eyes were slightly glazed. I let my fingers walk up Hal's chest as I whispered softly, "Can't you please, just this once, let me take her upstairs?"

Hal started nodding and before he changed his mind I grabbed Lula's hand and ran to the elevator. In no time we were on our way to the apartment on 7. When we entered the apartment I told Lula, "Don't touch anything! Look only! I'll be ready as soon as I can."

I ran into the bedroom and showered and dressed as fast as I could. I added hair gel to tame my hair and left it down. I added makeup and inside of 20 minutes I was heading back out to check on Lula. I came to a sudden stop as I saw Tank and Lula facing off, both with their arms crossed over their chests. I skidded to a stop and Tank's gaze momentarily flicked to me.

I swallowed hard and then stepped forwards, "Uh…I can explain."

"No need to. Hal already told me. Manny already told me. Cal on monitors already told me. Binkie on monitors already told me. I watched the damn tape and still had to come see for myself."

I smiled weakly, "It won't happen again. I just didn't know how else to get her to go with Manny."

Tank scowled, "I'm sure she'll go with Manny now. Won't you?"

Lula narrowed her eyes at Tank and then lifted her chin. "I ain't seen Batman's home yet."

Tank leaned down and growled at her, "You ain't going to either."

Lula put her hands on her hips and took a step closer to Tank. "I shor do plan on it."

Tank went to reach for her; I think he was going to bodily remove her from the apartment. Lula ducked under his arm and ran for the bedroom. Tank took chase and Lula screeched and ran faster. I stood there starring after them. I'd hear Lula's feet running in her 5" heels and then I'd hear Tank's footsteps practically stomping after her. I could hear the bed squeak as if someone had climbed onto it and then I heard Tank say, "Get down from there damn it! You break that bed and Ranger's going to know someone was in his apartment. Then he's going to break my ass and I ain't getting an ass breaking on account of you!"

"No one asked you to! All you had to do was let me take a teensy little look at the Bat Cave and I would a been a happy camper, but _nooooooo_. You had ta go and rain on my happy!"

Suddenly there was a crack and then a boom! Suddenly Tank came storming out of Ranger's bedroom with Lula over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Lula was kicking and pounding her fists against Tank and he acted as if he didn't even feel a thing. Tank glared at me as he neared where I was standing and he reached out and took hold of my wrist dragging me right along with them as he headed for the damn stairs. I pulled up short but the feral smile on Tank's face told me I wasn't going to get anywhere with protesting.

By the time we got down to the 5th floor I was doing pretty good to keep up and I wasn't even breaking a sweat. I figured we'd stop here and Tank would have one of the guys take Lula home. Wrong! He made me go all the way to the basement with them and handed me to Hal while he dumped Lula into the Explorer and told Manny to 'get her out of here!' Manny quickly got in and had the vehicle moving before Tank turned around and stalked towards me. He stopped when my nose hit his chest and then he bent down to look me in the face when I turned to look up at him. "Never let her in here again."

I nodded. I felt really bad because I think they broke Ranger's bed and I really didn't want Tank to get in trouble. I felt the tears burn the backs of my eyes, "I'm really sorry Tank. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble."

Tank's eyes narrowed as if he were deciding if I was telling the truth or not. Finally he nodded, "Don't worry Little Girl. I'll arrange for a new bed and no one will be the wiser."

"When this Ranger gets back I'll take the blame. After all it _was_ more my fault than yours."

Tank waved me away and headed back upstairs. I went to call the elevator but Tank leaned back around the doorway and smiled, "No way. I put it out of commission. Stairs for you Little Girl."

I stomped over to the stairwell door and continued to stomp my way up to the 5th floor. I was muttering under my breath the whole way. Shit! How the hell is a person supposed to go down 7 flights of stairs and then back up 5 flights in 5" FMP's and a micro-mini skirt! Didn't these guys know how hard that was? When I walked out onto the 5th floor, I noticed several of the guys standing around the monitors smirking. My eyes narrowed. So it's like that is it? I tried to control my breathing so it didn't look like I was gasping for breath and headed for my desk. I sat down and made it look like I was running a search. After a while the guys went back to their own desks and I folded my arms on my desk and rested my head on them.

The next thing I knew a hand was gently shaking me as a deep voice called my name. I lifted my head to see Tank looking down at me. He smiled, "Sorry Little Girl. Did I wear you out?"

I smiled, "You try walking down 7 flights of stairs….or forcibly marching down them and then stomping back up 5 more flights in 5" heels."

Tank grinned, "No thanks. It's 8 p.m. Thought you might want to touch up a little."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

It didn't take me long to fix my hair and makeup. When we were ready to head to the bar Tank handed me a wire. "I need you to attach that under your beast so we can hear what's going on. Just in case you need some help."

I nodded and Tank led me to his office and after putting me inside the office he shut the door. I put the wire in place and then opened the door. I rode with Tank to the bar and he told me how to activate the wire. I did as he said and got out of the SUV and headed inside. It didn't take me long to find the guy we were after. I walked over and slipped on the stool beside him. He looked over and his eyes lit up as he took in my get up.

Jorgio Lubnick was a forty year old businessman that was under investigation for insider trading. The key witness against him was the very man that Mooner was accused of murdering. I flirted with Jorgio and had him telling me all about his business and how he could make me some real money on the stock market. I threw in some comments about the party and the murder and Jorgio admitted to taking out the guy. When someone framed the stoner dude he couldn't believe his good fortune. As if he realized what he'd said he turned and narrowed his eyes on me. I gave him a vacant smile as if there wasn't a real thought in my head. He gave a nervous look around and then clamped down on my arm. I winced at the pain in my wrist but pretended I was willingly following him.

We made it to the back door and Jorgio ran his hand down my cheek. "Too bad doll. We would have made beautiful music together."

I had a funny feeling before he moved us out the back door. He twisted my wrist even more and I heard a pop. The pain was worse than anything I had ever experienced before except maybe when I jumped off the garage roof trying to fly when I was 4 years old. He pulled out a gun and I reacted on instinct as I stepped in close to him and brought my knee up into his groin. He doubled over with pain and released my wrist. At that same moment Tank and Cal grabbed him and took him down to the ground. Jorgio's face bounced several times off the pavement before he lay motionless.

My eyes widened as I looked to Tank and asked, "He's not dead is he?"

Cal growled, "Not yet Angel. Are you okay?"

I nodded. About that time Bobby came up to me and started checking me over. He winced as he took a look at my left hand. "You'll need that x-rayed. It's broken for sure."

I nodded, "Yeah. I heard it pop."

Suddenly Jorgio let out a grunt as a boot connected with his midsection. Cal and Vince took Jorgio to the police station along with the tape from the wire. Tank, Bobby and Les loaded me in Tank's SUV and drove me back to Rangeman so I could change before they took me to the hospital. Sure enough, my wrist was broken as well as three other bones in the hand. The doctor wrapped the hand and gave me the name of an orthopedic doctor to see the next day. After stopping by the pharmacy to get the pain pills, the guys took me to my parent's house. When Tank pulled to a stop in the driveway, my dad came out the front door and made his way to where the guys were helping me out of the vehicle. My dad's eyes were narrowed and I got the impression he was a little upset.

Daddy hugged me and asked, "You alright Pumpkin?"

"I'm okay daddy. Just a broken wrist and three bones in the hand."

Daddy kissed my cheek, "Go on in to bed honey. You'll need a good night's sleep and I'll take you to see the doctor in the morning."

I nodded, "Are you coming?"

"In a minute Pumpkin."

I went into the house and made my way up to my room. It was a struggle getting ready for bed but I made it. I went into the bathroom and got some water to take a pain pill with and then headed for bed. I was asleep in moments.

Frank Plum's POV:

I was watching the game when my buddy Arnie Hattings called and asked if I knew what kind of job my daughter had. I told him she worked for a security company. He stammered around and I told him if he had something to say then spit it out. That's when he told me he was at Streaks Bar and saw Steph dressed in a way I might not like and she was flirting with some older guy. I was getting ready to head down to the bar when Arnie told me the rest of what happened, including the guys in black taking care of that asshole.

While Helen went to bed, I stayed downstairs and waited for my little girl to get home. I had an idea of why she'd been dressed that way and although I knew she could do any job and do it well, I hated that she'd been hurt. I wanted to make sure those guys she worked with knew I wouldn't tolerate them not watching her back. I heard the vehicle pull into the drive and went out to see my baby. When I saw her with her hand all wrapped and the look of pain in her eyes, I wanted to break heads together.

I hugged my baby and asked, "You alright Pumpkin?"

"I'm okay daddy. Just a broken wrist and three bones in the hand."

I kissed her cheek, "Go on in to bed honey. You'll need a good night's sleep and I'll take you to see the doctor in the morning."

She nodded, "Are you coming?"

"In a minute Pumpkin."

I waited till she was in the house before I turned to the three men before me. "You let my little girl get hurt."

The largest of the three, a black man that was built like a tank shook his head and said, "She was helping us get a high dollar skip from a bar and the guy turned on her before we could get to him. He's back in the system now though. She got a murder confession out of him and kneed him where it hurts. We added a few bumps before taking him to the police station though. I'm sorry Stephanie got hurt sir. I guarantee we'll be more aware next time."

I stepped toe to toe with the big guy and narrowed my eyes. My voice was low and deadly as I spoke, "Stephanie's a handful and I'm sure there are going to be times you can't stop her from getting hurt. But if any of you deliberately hurt my little girl, you'll have me to deal with. There won't be a hole big enough to hide in. Are we clear?"

The big guy looked at me and nodded. "We're clear."

I turned and walked back into the house. From behind me someone said, "Shit! No wonder Beautiful is a force to be reckoned with. She's a chip off the old block." I smiled.


	7. Family Secrets

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. Thank you to Stephfan6511for letting me know about chapter 5. _

Chapter 7: Family Secrets

Stephanie's POV:

When I woke up in the morning it was 5 a.m. I groaned. Who would have thought getting up two days running to exercise would have started a habit already. I went to sit up and winced at the pain in my hand. I made my way into the bathroom and cleaned up the best I could. When I was dressed I headed downstairs to the kitchen. I found some left over cake from last night's dinner and cut a piece. I was just finishing up when my dad walked into the kitchen. He looked at me with twinkling eyes and asked me what happened to my hand. I told him about the skip and helping the guys. I may have left out where we were when it happened and what I was wearing. I should have known I couldn't pull one over on my dad.

Dad poured himself a cup of coffee and asked, "You know my buddy Arnie Hattings?"

I nodded. Then my eyes widened as I remembered where Arnie liked to hang out. I winced and met dad's gaze, "You know don't you?"

Daddy grinned, "He said it was the most fun he's had in 20 years. It might be a good idea if you asked those guys you work with to teach you some defensive moves; especially if you are going to help them bring in the bad guys."

I nodded. "Good idea. I have to be at the doctor's office at 8:30. Do you have time to take me?"

"I always have time to take you anywhere Pumpkin."

I grimaced, "Now I just need to figure out what to do for three hours."

Daddy squeezed my hand, "You can always ride with me in the cab. I have three regulars between now and then."

I nodded, "Okay."

Daddy finished his coffee and we headed out. To say dad's fares were interesting characters was putting it mildly. Old man Jenkins wanted a ride to the park where he got out and walked home. Next we took Elmer Sanders to his job at the Button Factory before heading to pick up none other than Joyce Barnhardt. Apparently daddy picked her up every day and took her to her job at the 7-11. Joyce and daddy talked and he even laughed at a couple of her stories. When he dropped her off, she gave him double the fare amount. As she got out of the car she smiled and told me how much she enjoyed seeing me again. I made some kind of comment back and she laughed before waving and heading into the store. I shook my head. Will miracles never cease?

Daddy turned the cab in the direction of the doctor's office. I was surprised when dad parked the car and walked in with me. Two hours later we walked back to the cab and daddy drove me to the Rangeman garage. I got out and stopped at the driver's side window. "I have my car here so I'll drive it home. Thanks for the ride and the support."

"Anytime Pumpkin. If you change your mind about the ride home just give me a call."

I leaned down and kissed his cheek before heading for the elevator. I smiled as I entered and sent the guys on monitors a finger wave. In no time the doors were opening and I was headed to my desk. I had just sat down when I felt the light eclipsed. I turned to see Tank standing behind me. Tank nodded to my hand, "How's it going?"

"Not bad. Did the police get everything they need to drop the charges against Mooner?"

Tank grinned, "If I told you Morelli has already called to tell us you are the greatest would that give you an idea?"

I smiled and replied, "He's just glad to be rid of Mooner. So do you still get the bond?"

Tank nodded, "Yeah, we brought him into the police so we get the $50,000."

I headed to my desk and got to work on the searches in my in basket. By lunchtime I had nearly half of them done. The next one I picked up made my eyes open wide. I had just seen Joyce earlier that morning and now here I was learning she was wanted for shoplifting over a quarter of a million dollars' worth of pesticides. What the hell would she want with that garbage? I stood and walked the file into Tank's office.

Tank looked up with a scowl on his face as I opened the door, but as soon as he saw me he nodded and motioned me in. "Steph, what can I help you with?"

"I saw Joyce this morning. My dad gave her a ride to the 7-11 where she works."

Tank's gaze narrowed, "You sure?"

I rolled my eyes, "I went to school with her. She was always following me around and copying me in every way. She was kinda freaky then. She seemed more normal this morning though."

"Alright. I'm going to send Woody and Brett to go bring her in. Thanks little girl."

"No problem."

I left Tank's office and headed for the break room. I checked the fridge and wrinkled my nose as I took in the selections of sandwiches and other food items. I sighed and rolled my eyes before grabbing a turkey sandwich and a bottle of water. I sat down in a chair and took a bite of my sandwich. I had to admit it was pretty good, even with all the healthy crap on it. When I finished, I tossed my trash into the garbage and headed back to my cubicle. I got to work on my searches and nearly fell out of my chair a couple hours later when someone poked me from behind. I had just opened a bottle of coke and it went flying from my right hand to somewhere behind me and my left hand went back as well connecting with something solid…or rather semi solid as I heard a "Damn Beautiful! That had to of hurt!"

I turned around and saw Junior standing there with blood dripping from his nose as Bobby tried to get Junior's hands away so he could get a good look. I was so upset at having hurt Junior that I burst into tears. The guys all froze like deer caught in headlights. I stood and took Junior's hand in my right one and asked through my tears, "Are you alright Junior? I had no idea anyone was back there. You have to let Bobby check it. Please!"

Junior looked at me and melted. He nodded and took his hand away so Bobby could check the nose. Junior patted my shoulder, "It's okay slugger. I'm tough. You didn't hurt me at all."

I noticed Binkie's shirt was soaked and the guys were laughing at him. I was unaware that tears were streaming down my cheeks. I felt really funny all of a sudden and the next thing I knew I was waking up on a cot in what looked to be the infirmary. I sat up and suddenly there were several concerned faces looking at me. Bobby checked my pulse and flashed a light in my eyes. I frowned asking, "What happened?"

Bobby continued checking me over as he said, "You fainted. Have you ever fainted before?"

I shrugged, "Not that I know of."

Bobby frowned as he looked at me for a moment and then handed me my purse, "Call you parents and ask them."

I fished my phone out and called my parent's house. I lucked out in that dad answered, "Hello?"

"Daddy. Did I ever faint when I was little?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm at Rangeman."

"I'll be right there."

The line went dead. I pulled my phone away from me and stared at it. After several seconds I looked up to Bobby and said, "He's on his way."

I could see by the smiles on the guy's faces that they thought something was funny. Three minutes later Tank walked into Bobby's exam room with my father half a step behind him. As soon as he saw me my dad came forward and wrapped his arms around me. Very gently he asked, "Are you alright Pumpkin?"

I nodded. "The guys say I fainted though."

Dad frowned, "What were the pills the doctor gave you?"

I fished in my purse for the prescription and showed it to my dad. He shook his head, "You can't take these pills. They make you supper emotional and you have fainting spells. They're too strong."

Bobby took the pills and set them on the counter. "What has she taken in the past that's worked?"

Daddy shook his head, "Tylenol 3 works but it can't have codeine in it."

Bobby took some packets out of the cabinet and put several in a prescription bottle. He handed me the bottle and said, "You'll need to wait at least 4 hours before taking one so it doesn't react with the other medicine."

I nodded. My dad wrapped his arm around me and helped me stand. "Are you ready to go home Pumpkin?"

I nodded, "Yeah." I turned to look at Tank, "Do I need to come in tomorrow?"

Tank grinned, "Not unless you want to exercise."

I glared at him and my eyes widened in shock to hear my dad chuckling at Tank's comment. My dad shook his head and said, "If you guys can get her to exercise more power to you, but Steph never was one for getting up early. Hell, before she started working for you she never got out of bed before 8 a.m. _let alone_ get to work by that time."

I gave my dad a hurt look and he just chuckled, "Don't pull that look on me Pumpkin. I love you no matter what."

I wrapped my good arm around daddy's and we headed down to the garage. Daddy helped me into my car and then we headed home. It was quarter to 6 when I pulled into the driveway and dad came to walk into the house with me. As we made our way to the front door, he told me the work on my house would be done by the end of the next week. I was thrilled with the information and couldn't wait to let grandma know.

Dinner was a quiet affair that night. Val couldn't talk with her jaw wired shut and mom refused to talk to show support for Val. As we were nearing the end of the meal, there was a loud explosion and we all ran to the front porch to see what had happened. For some reason I wasn't surprised to see my car engulfed in flames. Out of the corner of my eye I saw mom and Val smile and give me superior looks. I let my gaze roam over the onlookers and thought I saw Terry and Mary Lou in the crowd. There was also a figure clad all in black. It was too slight to be any of the guys from Rangeman and something about the figure made me think it was female. There was something familiar about them as well but I couldn't place it.

I heard my phone ringing and fished it out of my purse to answer. "Hello?"

"Stephanie, this is Cal on monitors. Your car just went off line. I'm checking to see if you are alright and if you need assistance."

"Someone just blew the car up and I'm fine thanks Cal."

"I'm sending a team over. They'll take care of the remains of the car in case there are any clues."

The figure in black looked right at me before moving into the crowd and disappearing. I got cold chills down my spine and looked around to see if Terry or Mary Lou were still in the crowd. They were gone as well. When I turned to head back into the house, Mom and Val were sitting at the table enjoying dishes of ice cream. They had smiles on their faces. I headed upstairs and booted up my lap top. I had some snooping to do and I figured no time like the present. Four hours later I was no closer to the answers I needed. I gave up for the night and went to bed. I was plagued with nightmares.

For some reason I was taken back to the time I was 6 and I was locked in the mausoleum after aunt Girdie's funeral. It was hours before my father came and made the priest unlock the door so he could see if I was in there. Daddy hadn't been with mom, Val and I at the funeral as he had been asked to be one of those carrying the casket. He didn't know I was missing until mom and Val showed up at the church after the burial ceremony and I wasn't with them. I had nightmares for months after that. Of course daddy was furious at mom because she hadn't made sure I was with them when she left. They almost divorced over the whole thing but the priest had a talk with both of them and daddy agreed to give mom another chance. Of course grandma Mazur came to live with us the next day after daddy had a long talk with her.

I woke with a start and sat up in bed. I looked around to catalogue where the danger was coming from but I was alone in the room. I groaned as I noticed it was 5 a.m. I flopped back on the bed but sleep wouldn't come so I got up and dressed. I made my way down to the kitchen and found my dad in the kitchen having a cup of coffee. He smiled, "Hello Pumpkin. Are you going to need a ride to Rangeman today?"

I shrugged, "I might as well. I can't sleep so I might as well go exercise."

Dad laughed at the less than thrilled look on my face. "Careful or you might actually start liking exercising."

I grimaced, "I might accept the inevitable of having to do it but I will never like it."

Dad finished his coffee and set the cup in the sink. We headed out to the cab and dad made me stand on the sidewalk while he checked the cab out before he opened the front passenger seat for me and allowed me to sit in the car. I quirked an eyebrow at him and bit my lip before asking him, "What did you do in the army dad?"  
He smiled, "I was an Army Ranger. I ran missions for Uncle Sam for 5 years."

"Why did you stop?"

He paused, "Your mom was pregnant with you and I wanted to be here for you. I'm going to tell you a secret Pumpkin. One you can't repeat to your mother. When Val was 3 months old and I was overseas, your mom had an affair with another man. She got pregnant and to keep it a secret she went to stay with your aunt Gertie. She gave birth to a baby girl. An adoption was arranged and your mother never saw the baby she'd given life to. I was home on leave three months later and I was seriously considering divorcing your mother then. She caught me in a weak moment and I allowed her to seduce me. Before I could make a decision, I was called out on another mission. When I was finished with the mission I came to tell Helen it was over but before I could she told me she was pregnant with you. I had one more mission that lasted 6 months. My contract with the government was up and I told my superiors I wasn't re-signing. I intended to be there for my child's birth. I walked into the delivery room as you came into the world and I never looked back."

I was stunned to know I had a half-sister I never even knew. By now we were pulling into the Rangeman garage. I leaned over and kissed my dad on the cheek before getting out of the taxi and taking the elevator to the gym. Bobby and Les were in there and they both grinned as I walked in. Bobby walked over to the treadmill and unlocked the machine. He nodded, "As long as you have the cast on, I'm unlocking the machines so you can do the easy routine. Once that comes off you're back to the regular workout."

I grinned, "I love you."

Bobby chuckled, "Yeah sure. That's what all the ladies say."

I started out walking and by the time I ended I was walking at quite a clip. I didn't realize it until Bobby pointed it out, but I actually walked twice the distance I usually ran. I was feeling good and headed up to 7 to shower and change for the day.


	8. A New Home and A New Diet

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. Thanks to the reviewer that pointed out Tylenol 3 does have codeine and there isn't a just plain Tylenol 3._

Chapter 8: A New Home and A New Diet

Stephanie's POV:

The next week seemed to take forever. Saturday after I was done exercising Bobby asked me if I'd had any trouble with the medicine he gave me. I shook my head and said, "No. I took some last night and then again this morning. Why?"

Bobby nodded, "I gave you Norco and was just making sure the dosage was tolerable for you."

"It helped a lot. No pain last night or this morning."

"Okay. Now that we have you squared away on an exercise program and the pain meds are now working, we need to discuss your diet. I've been watching you this past week and have noticed you've been doing pretty well on the no sweets here once you have your 2Tastykakes. Are you eating sweets at home?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "My mom usually fixes dessert with dinner. Other than that I try not to snack outside of meals."

Bobby nodded. He moved behind a partition, placing it between us and pausing a moment before asking, "Have you ever had any other incidents like the morning you didn't have your Tatykakes for breakfast?"

I glared at him, "What do you mean by that?"

Bobby's eyes widened, "There are several conditions that may cause personality changes when a person is experiencing low or high blood sugar. Have you ever been tested for anything like that?"

"No. My doctor is always telling me I need to gain at least 5 pounds though."

Bobby nodded, "I'd have to agree with that. I think 10 pounds would be even better since you are working out. I don't want you to get too underweight."

I made a face, "The last time my doctor put me on a diet I lost 5 pounds."

Bobby's eyes widened, "How the hell did that happen?"

I blushed. Bobby smiled, "This is going to be good."

I looked around, "Isn't there someplace more private that we can talk?"

I followed Bobby to his office where he shut the door. He sat down at his desk and I took the other chair. I sat up straight and raised my chin, "The last time the doctor put me on a diet I was living with Joe Morelli. I was doing great at following the doctor's scheduled meal plan but the weight wasn't happening. Joe enlisted the help of his mom and grandma Bella. We went over there every night for a week for dinner. No change. Well, it got to be that time of the month and I have this habit of going on a sweet binge the week before I'm due. Well when Joe went with to my appointment and told the doctor about it, the doctor said that wasn't healthy. He said I needed to gain the weight in a healthy way."

I paused and Bobby was still hanging on to what I was saying so I continued. "Joe decided I should only have 2 Tastykakes a day." I looked at Bobby, "Joe's been on the receiving end when I've gone without them for breakfast too." I looked down at my hands and kinda rushed the next part. "Anyway, I was doing okay the first couple of days but then I started looking at Joe funny, at least that's what he said. He said I made him feel like he was a jelly donut."

Bobby laughed and asked, "What the hell does that mean?"

I shrugged, "No clue. Anyway, our love life really took off. We really went hot and heavy for a couple days, but then Joe said he needed a break or I was going to put little Joey in a comma. Well, I didn't want to put little Joey in a comma so I gave him a night off. Joe and I went to a policeman's function and I couldn't take my gaze off some of the really hot guys on the force. Joe and I left early and he accused me of coming onto the guys. I made a comment about at least then I'd get some action and he said he'd show me plenty of action. Only thing is, I think I broke little Joey because he wouldn't work. No matter what we did little Joey was flat as a pancake. I was so depressed I ate a whole box of Tatykakes and felt loads better. Another day and I felt like my normal self. Joe had recovered and so did little Joey. The doctor said I'd substituted sex for the sweets I was denied. He suggested I continue with my unhealthy eating during that one week a month as long as I ate healthy the other three. During that week when Joe was only letting me have the 2 Tastykakes a day, I lost 5 pounds."

I looked over at Bobby and he was sitting there laughing his ass off. I glared and commented, "I don't think it's so funny!"

"You broke little Joey!" was all he said before his laughter made it impossible for him to speak.

I stood up to go and Bobby said, "Wait Steph, I'll be good."

I turned around and glared at him. I could see he was trying very hard to get himself under control. Bobby motioned for me to sit back down so I did. He handed me a piece of paper and said, "I want you to have a blood test and this is what we are searching for. I want to see if you have any of these markers. I'll use the data from the tests to devise your diet. I really want you to gain 10 pounds and maintain that weight."

I took the paper and nodded, "Alright. Can we do it here or do I have to go to the hospital?"

"We can do it here if that's okay with you."

I nodded and Bobby raided my body of three tubes of blood. Once he was done I called my dad for a ride home. When I walked into the house, Grandma lifted a set of keys and jangled them. She grinned and said, "Why don't you drive us over so we can pick up Lula and hit the mall? Now that I know I'm busting out of here I can't wait to do a little shopping."

I thought about it and realized it was a great idea. I needed a lot of things as well. We headed towards the Bonds office in Big Blue and then once we had Lula we headed for Quaker Bridge Mall. We hit Sears and JC Penny's as well as several other stores. By the time we were done we had bought all the furnishings for what would be our rooms at the house as well as agreed on how to outfit the kitchen, sitting room, living room, den, pantry as well as the patio and garden. We headed to the food court and low and behold there was one of the skips I'd just finished researching for Rangeman the day before. I called Tank and told him our location as well as the skips. He told me to hang tight but under no circumstances should I approach the guy.

We got our food and started eating. I kept an eye on the skip. I saw him looking around and when he stiffened I looked to see what had alerted him. There walking towards him was Vince and Woody. The skip pulled a big knife out of his jacket and I noticed his eyes looked as if he were getting ready to pounce on one of the guys. I told grandma and Lula to stay put and I ran over to where the guys were approaching. I caught Vince unawares as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. Under my breath I spoke so only Vince could hear, "He has a big knife and it's out and ready."

Vince set me away from him with a smile and we pretended as if we had been meeting all along. We chatted as we turned and walked in the direction of the skip. Everything would have been fine except at the exact moment we drew even with the skip someone fired off a shot. The bullet came close to hitting me and before I knew it I was down on the ground and Vince was covering me as Woody was crouched beside us with his gun out, scanning the mall. The skip, seeing his chance took off in grandma and Lula's direction. Not wanting to be left out of the action, Lula put her leg out and tripped the skip and then both she and grandma Mazur sat on him.

Grandma pulled her gun out of her pocket book and said, "Go ahead punk. Day my make." and she sat there glaring down on him.

Woody softly spoke to Vince, "I see someone. I'm going to check it out."

I wanted to protest but Woody was already moving and Vince wasn't letting me up. He called the control room and told them what was going down. Within 10 minutes there were three more Rangemen going through the mall looking for possible shooters. When the guys had made sure the threat no longer existed, I was allowed to get up. Binkie and Junior were dispatched to take the skip in, while Vince and Woody followed me around for the rest of the evening. When we went out to the car, they made sure Big Blue hadn't been tampered with and followed me back to the Bonds office and then to my home.

When I parked in the driveway with my Rangeman entourage, my dad came out and gave us a narrow-eyed look. "What's going on?"

"It was nothing daddy."

At the same time grandma piped up, "Some low-life took a shot at Stephanie."

My dad went back to the SUV, "You boys hanging around for a while?"

"Till Tank sends our replacement."

My dad nodded, "Much obliged."

Daddy walked grandma and I into the house and locked up for the night. The next morning I slept in until 10 and when I headed down to the kitchen, grandma was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee. She smiled and asked if I wanted some of the waffles she made. I told her I'd grab one and to finish her coffee. I had just sat down when she pushed the paper over in front of me. I noticed a picture of grandma and Lula sitting on a skip and in the background you could see Vince covering me. The headline read: Has the Bombshell taken on Bounty Hunting now too? I groaned and laid my head on the table.

Grandma chuckled, "You didn't even get to the best part. They're calling you the Bombshell Bounty Hunter and wondering when the next explosion is going to come."

"I'm not a Bounty Hunter though."

"No. They got that covered too. Right here."

I looked to where she was pointing and read, 'Trenton's own Stephanie Plum, a recent hire at Rangeman Enterprises, has been turning Trenton on its head with all the explosions going on around this little lady. The 5'7" curly-haired brunette with the beautiful blue eyes is a knock-out by anyone's standards. These days she's adding to her repertoire of just _how_ she's willing to knock someone out. Better watch it Trenton. With this little gal on their side, the big, bad-asses of Rangeman will find you no matter where you go to ground.'

I threw the paper down. "How can they print that garbage?"

Grandma chuckled, "Read the bottom line."

I read, 'Source unknown' Then in fine print 'This article was delivered to this newspaper and printed in its entirety. Please not facts may be suspect.'

"No kidding their facts are suspect. You just wait till I find who did this."

"I kinda like it. Phone's been ringing all morning."

I ate my breakfast and left grandma to go do some digging with my laptop. Unfortunately I wasn't finding anything . The next morning I got dressed and headed into Rangeman. It seems every one of the guys had seen the article as well. I was teased unmercifully. For the most part, the week was more routine than the one before it. I did the searches and handed them over to the guys and they went after the bad guys. I exercised every morning at 5 a.m. and I went to the gun range and worked with Vince 3 days that week. I was getting better at shooting what I aimed for. Bobby found nothing wrong with my blood workup and although I got the 2 Tastykakes in the mornings for breakfast, there was a no sweets rule in place after that. Bobby asked me to keep a log of everything I ate.

When I stepped on the scale at the end of the week I had lost 2 pounds. Bobby read over my food log and frowned. He walked away from where I was sitting into his exam room, scratching his head. When he came back he handed me a menu he wanted me to follow. It had me eating all my meals at Rangeman for the next week. I made a face but told him I'd do it. At the end of the week when he weighed me again I hadn't gained any weight, but I hadn't lost either. Again Bobby walked away scratching his head and came back with another menu for me to follow. My eyes widened in disbelief. There was no way I could eat _that_ much food! I gave it my best and at the end of the week I winced when Bobby threw his clipboard across the room when I hadn't gained any weight. I told him look on the bright side, at least I hadn't lost any weight either.

Bobby lifted up his phone and started discussing the problem with someone on the other end of the phone. He nodded his head at times while he listened and at others he narrowed his eyes as if concentrating before replying. Finally he hung up the phone and handed me back the same menu I'd had the last week. "We're going to try this without you exercising at all for one week."

I grimaced but took the list and headed out. I followed the menu and I also noted that the guys were popping in at various times. When I went back to Bobby to get weighed, he let out an enormous growl. "Damn it! I can't figure it out! Why don't you gain weight?"

I shrugged, "It's all that crap you're making me eat."

Bobby had a hand on either side of his head and groaned before pointing to the door. "GO! Eat as much junk as you want to. Hell, eat anything you want to and no exercising. Just keep a list of what you eat and bring it to me next week."

I nodded and headed out. By now, grandma, Lula and I had been living in our house for three weeks. Grandma had a suite of rooms on the first floor. She had a bedroom, bathroom and sitting room. Hers was the only bedroom on that floor. Lula and I had rooms at opposite ends of the house on the second floor. Our rooms were the same layout as grandmas. There were two vacant set of rooms on the second floor as well as the third floor apartment. I was in no hurry to rent those three areas out because I was more concerned with getting someone we could all live with. That night for supper grandma made fried chicken, onion rings, deep fried pickles, baked potato and pineapple upside down cake. I enjoyed every morsel that went into my mouth. I hadn't enjoyed my food this much in a long time.

Every day that week grandma would fix me breakfast. I would head into Rangeman and eat my two Tastykakes at my desk and then I'd get to work. At noon I would head out and grab something from Pino's, Cluck in a Bucket, McDonald's, or some other fast food place and bring it back to the break room to eat. I wanted to show Bobby I was taking this seriously. I usually grabbed a snack of cheese doodles, chips, peanut butter and olive sandwich or something else about 3 p.m. Since we had moved to the house, our dinner time had been put back an hour to accommodate all of us. It worked for us so that was all that mattered. Every night grandma would make a home cooked meal, complete with dessert. When I went into Bobby's office on Saturday, his face was grim. Tank and Lester were both in the office as well and I gave them a puzzled look.

Lester shook his head and grinned at me, "Beautiful, if you haven't gained any weight, we're afraid Brown may lose it."

I gave Bobby a worried look and quickly stood on the scale. I was afraid to look down. All of a sudden Bobby wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me in the air, swinging me around and around. He was bouncing me up and down saying, "We did it! We did it! She gained 2 pounds! We did it!"

Tank and Lester were looking at Bobby as if he had lost his mind and I had to admit I couldn't wait for him to set me down so that I could move away from him. Finally, Bobby set me down on the ground and gave me a solemn look. "No exercises until we add another 5 pounds. Then we'll have to monitor regularly to make sure you don't lose any weight again. As far as the food bans, none of them apply to you. I'm writing in your file you are required to eat anything you choose as long as you maintain a certain weight range. We'll handle any extra weight gain through exercise."

I was smiling when I left Rangeman and headed home. I had no clue of what was coming.

Ranger's POV:

I stepped out of my handler's office with a huge smile on my face. I was done with missions and now it was time to head back to Trenton and start building my dream. My first stop would be my lawyer's office and then I would go out and look over my new property. I couldn't wait to tear down that dilapidated old house and get started on the new Rangeman headquarters. I put my sunglasses on and headed to the parking lot where I had parked my car before going on the mission. I was anxious to get home and get started with my plans.

Unknown POV:

I narrowed my eyes and searched the mall. I was furious someone was trying to kill my toy before I had the privilege. I saw the shooter. He was nearly 5'10" tall with a too slender frame. He was perhaps 50 with balding black hair and glasses. I saw the gun in his hand as he rushed away. I followed. He got into a late model sports car and I slid into my car and followed him. I wasn't surprised when he stopped at the law offices of Murdock, Tinsdale and Flush. I quickly made my way inside so as to see where he was heading. I watched him enter a room and walked silently over to the door marked Allen Flush. I smiled. Well Allen Flush, no one was going to kill my toy before I got the chance. You are definitely going to have to go bye-bye.

_Although there are people out there with high metabolism, the reality of Stephanie not gaining weight no matter how much "healthy" food she ate is probably far out there. I hope you can go along with the flow and let me have poetic license with the truth. I've been waiting to do this chapter since the start. So…what do you think is going to happen next?_


	9. Explosive Meetings

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 9: Explosive Meetings

Ranger's POV:

I strode down the hall to Timmons' office and rapped on the door once. At his enter I opened the door and stepped inside. The man behind the desk smiled and pushed a paper to my side of his desk. "I have your contract all ready to go Manoso."

I smiled, anticipating his response, "I won't be re-signing. I've just run my last mission."

Timmons' paled even more. "What do you mean you aren't going to re-sign?"

I lifted the papers and shredded them. "Just that. I'm done with your bullshit. As of yesterday I am officially a civilian."

The low-life in front of me ran his hand through his hair. "Look, let's talk this over…"

I stepped to the side because I knew the door would be opening and the General would be entering the office. I had no more than stepped aside and the door opened. General O'Mar strode in with my resignation in his hand and threw it on Timmons' desk, "You asshole Timmons'! You just cost us our best weapon. Manoso officially resigned his commission." As if just realizing I was standing there the General turned to me, "Manoso, what do I have to promise you to get you to change your mind?"

"There is nothing you can do sir. I've run my last mission."

I stood there and listened to the two men argue, threaten, and finally beg to get me to reconsider. I told them no thanks and walked out. I headed to my rental car and headed home to Trenton, New Jersey. Once I was underway I took out my phone and called my lawyer. Murdock was the best there was. He had a reputation for getting things done and he didn't suffer fools gladly. Piss the man off and he'd tear you apart. His receptionist answered the phone. I'd made the mistake of going out with her once and now the woman refused to leave me alone. I'd tried being nice, I'd tried being firm, and finally I turned cold. The woman refused to get the message. I knew from the tone of her voice she thought she was the reason for the call.

Her voice went husky as she said, "Carlos darling, how are you?"

"Put Murdock on."

She giggled, "That might get a little embarrassing if he listens in."

"Vanessa, put your boss on. Now!"

I could hear her pouting through the phone, "Not till you apologize for being so mean."

"I'm giving you to the count of three to get Murdock on the phone."

The phone went dead. I pulled my cell away from my ear and looked at it. I searched through my directory till I found Murdock's personal number and made another call. "Hello?"

"Murdock. I don't ever want to deal with that woman again. I'm not interested and if she doesn't accept that it's her problem. She's verging on stalking me and she just hung up on me because I wouldn't apologize to her. She's also calling me Carlos."

Murdock laughed, "I told you."

I growled, "It's not funny."

"No. It's not. I'll explain it to her. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to know about the property I asked you to acquire for me."

I could sense the tension in Murdock's silence. "I never got your response. The land has been sold to another party."

I swore. "I got your wire a little over 4 weeks ago and sent a return wire out to buy the land."

"I never got the message Ranger."

My eyes narrowed, "I'll be in Trenton in two hours. I want to know who's ass I'm kicking when I get into town."

"I'll check into it. Don't worry about Vanessa. She's gone."

I made the drive in just under two hours. Just as I was pulling up to the property that until two hours ago I thought was mine, my phone rang. "Yo."

"Allen got your message but before he got to the bank the property was sold. He's been trying ever since to buy the property from the new owner. They are firm in their not for sale stance. As a matter of fact the property has been remodeled."

I thanked Murdock for the information and parked and looked around at the changes the property had undergone since I had left for my mission. I had to admit; whoever bought the place had done wonders with the house and surrounding property. I decided it wouldn't hurt to put a personal offer to the new owner and climbed out of my black, Porsche 911 Turbo. I was headed for the front door when I heard a feminine voice swearing. I raised an eyebrow and headed around to the side of the house and seeing movement above I looked up. It was all I could do not to laugh at the sight before me.

Standing on her tip toes on the edge of the second story ledge, clinging to a low hanging branch from the tree closest to the house, was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. She had the most glorious head of curly brown hair and piercing blue eyes. She was dressed in blue jeans and a gray t-shirt and she had the most ridiculous 5" heeled shoes on. I watched as she struggled to find her footing and judged the distance between her and the ground. If she fell she was going to hurt herself. That's when I saw the cast on her left hand. Just about the time she had her balance and started to let go of the branch, a little black fur ball ran from the tree branch and jumped onto her shoulder, startling her and causing her to lose her balance. I stepped forward with the intention of catching her. I managed to get under her in time for her to land on me and as I went down I felt the wet, sticky mud cling to my ass.

For such a little thing she was feisty. The minute she felt me under her she threw back her casted hand and caught me on the side of the head. It felt like she had bricks in the damn thing. Just when I thought it was safe to get up she flew at me and I bent over in agony as her knee connected with my manhood. She was coming at me again when I held my hand up and said, "I was just trying to help. I saw you were in trouble and thought I might help."

She gave me the once over before saying, "Who the hell do you think you are….Batman?"

I glared at her but before I could say anything she was demanding, "What are you doing on my property?"

"I came to make you an offer. I was interested in buying the property before I had to leave town but you got in before my agent could make the purchase."

She rolled her eyes and looked at me with narrowed eyes, "Your agent better not be that moron Allen Flush that's been hounding me since I made the purchase. The little creep won't leave me alone."

My eyes locked onto her as a thought raced through my mind. Was it possible? Before I could say any more, she put her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up to me, "I don't care who you are or what your offer is. I'm not selling so get off my land."

"You haven't even heard my offer."

"And I'm not going to. Now either leave or I'll call the police."

I stepped closer thinking to intimidate her into listening to my offer. What I didn't expect was for her to pull a gun from the back of her waist and point it at me. I raised my hands to keep her from doing something I would regret and stepped back. She nodded and said, "Good. Now keep going. I'm not selling and your scare tactics aren't going to work."

I started to back away from her as there was no way in hell I was turning my back on her. All of a sudden I felt claws on the back of my neck and I whirled around. Unfortunately I was too close to the wood pile and in my attempt at fancy footwork I didn't notice the little fur ball that had attacked me was now underfoot. The yowl had me lifting my foot and I lost my balance, coming down hard on the wood pile. I heard a distinctive snap as I landed on my foot and the pain was my first clue my ankle was probably broken.

I lowered my head and growled, "Babe, you are lethal."

She bit her lip and I could see the debate going on in her mind before she said, "You're no prince yourself Batman."

She pulled out her cell and called an ambulance. Shit! Just what I needed to announce my return to Trenton. When the cops and the ambulance got there I was surprised at the lack of attention I got. They were all fawning over her. Of course she was a hot chick and I couldn't fault them their taste, but still. I mean I was the injured person here. When I was finally loaded into the ambulance, it didn't take them long to get me to the hospital. I called Rangeman and asked them to send Brown but was told he was just called out and would be unavailable for a while. I narrowed my eyes and decided I would need to have a talk with Brown when I was back at Rangeman.

Three hours later Tank finally picked me up and drove me back to Rangeman. I was a little pissed because Tank kept up a running commentary about the Little Girl he had hired and how all the guys had taken to her; as a matter of fact, that's where Brown had to go and why he couldn't meet me at the hospital. I didn't want to hear about some girl he hired, I wanted to know about the happenings at Rangeman in my absence. By the time we got to the garage, I noticed my car was parked right beside the elevator where I had arranged for it to be towed. I carefully got out of Tank's SUV and took the elevator up to 7. I gave Tank a funny look when he followed me up. When he followed me into the bedroom, I was about to tell him I could handle the rest on my own when I noticed something different about my bed.

I turned and nailed Tank with a look. He actually blushed! To say I was shocked would have been putting things mildly. I looked around the room and then back to Tank. I growled, "Who are you and what have you done with my second in command Tank?"

Tank chuckled, "Sorry Rangeman. It was an accident. I've been letting Little Girl use your apartment to clean up after exercising in the gym. Well, when she needed to get ready for the distraction, she came up here and Lula followed her."

I glared at Tank, "You let Lula in my apartment?"

"Uh, no. It was an accident. Little Girl caught Hal at a weak moment and Lula was up here before anyone could do anything about it. I was trying to get her out of here but she's pretty feisty when she wants to be and I had a hell of a time catching her. First she'd run one way and then when I was catching up she'd change direction and run the other. I nearly had her cornered when she jumped on the bed and I went after her. The minute I stepped on the bed it crashed."

I was a bad ass and bad asses didn't show emotions or howl with laughter. I had to bite the inside of my cheek, hard, to keep the laughter inside. I shook my head and told Tank I was getting some sleep, I'd deal with him in the morning.

Stephanie's POV:

I couldn't believe how embarrassing that was. That guy was _so_ hot! I sighed and headed in to the house. My hand was really aching from the strain of holding onto that branch. I called Bobby to see if he could come take a look at my hand. When he asked what happened and I told him, he was convulsed with laughter. Great! Bobby asked me if I had a death wish wearing 5" FMP's to stand on the second story ledge to save a kitten. When I told him about the hot guy his eyes got big and I could see him trying to hold back the laughter. Bobby checked my hand over and said it would be a good idea to run by the doctor's office in the morning. I nodded and walked to the front door with him. As I watched him out, Lula arrived with grandma Mazur.

The next morning I stopped by the doctor's office and he x-rayed the hand. I was lucky that I hadn't caused any further damage to the hand with the fall. From the doctor's I drove Big Blue to Rangeman. I was a little distracted when I entered the garage, thinking about the hot guy from the day before. I went to pull into the parking space I'd been using for the past month and was brought up short at the sound of metal crunching metal. I looked forward and my eyes widened at the smashed front in of what looked to be an expensive sports car. I grimaced and backed up Big Blue. Apparently part of the front bumper of the other car was attached to Big Blue because the other car came with. I parked the Buick and headed for the elevator. I rode up to the 5th floor and figured I'd head to Tank's office and let him know about the damaged car. I was surprised to see Blue didn't have a scratch.

When I stepped off the elevator on 5, all the guys on the floor stood up and started applauding. I gave them a puzzled look, wondering if they'd seen what happened on the monitors as I continued on to Tank's office. I opened the door and stepped inside. Tank looked up and I told him about the car. I could see Tank was trying very hard not to laugh. He assured me he understood and for me not to worry about the other car. When I went to leave his office he stood up and put a hand on my waist to lead me out on the floor. He opened the door and motioned for me to go first. I had just entered the doorway when the man I had the run in the day before came stalking towards us. Well, stalking as well as possible on a pair of crutches. I felt Tank stiffen beside me at the newcomer's presence.

He stopped suddenly and his eyes narrowed before he growled, "_You_!"

I placed my hands on my hips and gave him a glare of my own. I folded my arms feeling safe in with Tank beside me. "Well if it isn't Batman! What are you doing here?"

His expression turned mocking, "I own the place Babe. What are you doing here?"

I looked at Tank and said, "Please tell me he's not who I think he is."

Tank smiled, "Little Girl, I'd like to introduce the boss. Ricardo Carlos Manoso. Everyone calls him Ranger."

I whipped my head around to Ranger but asked Tank, "Lula's Ranger?"

He nodded. I closed my eyes and muttered, "Just shoot me now."

There were several chuckles and when I opened my eyes Ranger was standing there glaring at me. At that moment, Woody came out of the stairwell and said, "That was quite a trick Bomber. Bossman's car is totaled."

Ranger growled, "What?"

Woody stopped in his tracks, "Oh, uh, hi boss."

"You said my car is totaled?"

Woody nodded. "Yeah. The other car doesn't even have a scratch on it."

"And just who was driving the other car?"

There was nothing I could do. I certainly wasn't going to hide behind the guys. I turned and faced Ranger, "I was. In my defense, you parked in my spot."

"This is _my_ building. I parked in _my_ spot."

Ranger turned and headed towards the elevator. I turned to Tank and asked, "What do I do?"

Tank chuckled, "Go get to work and I'll calm him down. Try to lay low for a while though if you can."

"How was I to know he was parked there?"

Tank grinned, "You got to be aware of your surroundings Little Girl."

I sighed and headed to my cubicle but before I could get there a very pissed off Ranger was stalking…crutches and all, he was stalking towards me. Oh Boy! I needed a Tastykake in the worst way.

_Thanks knitter for the idea of Steph's position when they first meet. Well, what do you think of the first two meetings, and what's Ranger going to do or say to Stephanie?_


	10. Rules Are Not To Be Broken

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 10: Rules Are Not To Be Broken

Stephanie's POV:

Ranger stopped before me, "What did you do to my car?"

"Nothing."

"Like hell! It's destroyed! And it's still attached to that piece of junk you drive."

I glared at him and said, "Oh yeah? Well seems to me you're the one with a piece of junk because it's trash. There's not a scratch on my car."

Ranger lowered his face so we were inches apart and said, "That's because you drive a tank."

Ever notice how things catch your attention at the weirdest times? Like right now for instance. Here I was arguing with Ranger and what goes through my mind? Man this guy is hot and I'd like to do the horizontal tango with him. Suddenly his eyes darken and he lowers his head another fraction of an inch. Just when it looks like our lips are going to meet I hear Bobby's voice asking, "Bomber, what did you do to the boss's car?"

Ranger's eyes iced over and I pulled back. I glanced behind me at my purse and the Tastykake sitting there waiting to be devoured as Bobby stepped around the partition and came to a sudden stop. "Oops. Sorry boss."

Ranger gave Bobby a stiff nod, "Brown."

Bobby sighed and motioned to Ranger's injured foot, "Mission?"

Ranger shook his head no, "I came through the mission just fine. I went to make a purchase offer and ended up being attacked." The last was said as his eyes met mine.

Bobby eyes widened, "So you were the second call. Sorry boss, but Steph here called and needed me to check her hand out. Did you tell the person on the phone that you were injured? They made no mention of it when I got back."

"No. It's done now. I'm fine. Much better than my car in fact."

I could feel tingling in the back of my neck which was surprising as I'd never felt that kind of electricity before. Along with that I felt like I usually did when I hadn't had any sugar for breakfast. I needed that Tastykake and I needed it now. Bobby was talking with Ranger and I decided for everyone's protection I needed to get that Tastykake. I reached in my purse and unwrapped the treat only to have Ranger's voice scare the crap out of me and I dropped the damn thing! I turned around and glared, "Damn it! You made me drop my Tastykake."

Before I could say anything more there were more than a dozen boxes of Tastykakes staring me in the face. Ranger's eyes hardened and he spoke in a deadly soft voice that was all the more frightening because of the quietness of the tone. Even so, Tank heard and in seconds was standing in front of Ranger. "You called?"

Ranger gave a minute nod, his eyes were like looking into shards of glass, "What happened to my ban on sweets?"

My eyes widened when Tank paled. He straightened up and met Ranger's gaze, "Little Girl is the exception boss. She needs the sugar in those Tastykakes to make it safe for the guys. Brown thought we should all carry an emergency stash just in case."

Ranger shook his head, "No sugar. No sweets. No exceptions."

Bobby spoke up, "It's a medical necessity that she have the sugar. As a matter of fact, she has a paper in her file that states she needs to be allowed to eat whatever food she chooses to maintain her weight."

Ranger's eyes went to Bobby and I made a dive for my other Tastykake. I managed to get the wrapper off and as Ranger was lecturing the guys on following rules, I bit into the Butterscotch Krimpet and moaned. Ranger stopped midsentence and turned to me. Once again his eyes darkened with desire and our gazes locked. He watched me eat the rest of my treat without saying a word. When I finished the last bite I looked around at all the boxes and zeroed in on the one I wanted. I accepted one from the box Hal was holding and devoured the treat in no time. I felt so much better. I gave a contented sigh and turned back to Ranger and Bobby.

Ranger's gaze was on me as he said, "Although I can appreciate the sound effects, the no sweets rule applies to all employees." His eyes took on a feral look as our gazes locked, "You've had your last Tastykake in this building Babe. Back to healthy eating and exercise."

I bit my lip, "You won't hold anything I might do against me will you?"

Ranger looked like he wanted to laugh, "I think I can handle one little girl."

I didn't say anything because I could see Tank shaking his head no, but I felt guilty for not warning Ranger that without my Tastykakes, I get a little cranky. I sat at my desk and got to work. I was doing pretty good and the sandwich I had for lunch was tolerable. It was chicken salad on rye bread. By quitting time I had most of the searches done in my in basket. Bobby called to me before I left for the day and said he wanted to weigh me. He looked a little frustrated when he weighed me, and I wondered why because I had actually gained another pound.

Bobby shook his head, "I'm sorry that all our progress is going to go down the drain because Ranger insists on his rules. How about if you stuff yourself with junk food at nights when you're home and eat healthy here for lunch?"

I grinned, "I'll try not to take it out on you again."

Bobby gave me a wan smile. "If you do, I'll understand it's not your fault. We're thinking of asking Ranger for combat pay though."

I could tell he was teasing with the last little bit. I smiled and said, "I dare you."

Bobby raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget the morning meeting tomorrow."

I nodded, "I'll be there and I'll try not to be too crabby."

I went down to the garage and just as I was ready to get into Big Blue, a woman I had never seen came walking into the garage from the street. She stood 5'10" tall and was model slim, with an exotic beauty about her. She looked extremely upset and I asked her what was wrong. A tear fell from her eye and she told me about her fiancé being gone on a long mission and he just got back into town. She was devastated because he was hurt and didn't want her to see him like that so he wasn't allowing her to see him. I asked who her fiancé was but I had a clue. I didn't understand the intense pain in my chest as I realized she was talking about Ranger. After listening to her story I decided to let her in his apartment so she could see for herself he was okay. Besides, maybe this would go towards making up for smashing his little toy. I walked with her over to the elevator and rode up to 7 with her and let her in the apartment. She thanked me profusely and I headed back towards the garage.

I made my way home and that night at dinner I told grandma and Lula that the boss was back and I was back to the healthy eating and no Tastykakes. Grandma and Lula looked at each other and then they looked at me. Lula shook her head. "You go after granny or me and I'm gonna shoot me some Batman."

I grimaced, hoping I didn't alienate all my friends. I went on to tell them about my first meeting with my boss. Lula was grinning ear to ear. By the time I got done with the story of the second meeting, grandma was also grinning ear to ear. For everyone's safety I told them I'd go straight to my room when I got home to minimize the damage I might do. I headed upstairs to my rooms and had an early night.

Grandma Mazur's POV:

The minute Stephanie went upstairs I turned to Lula and smiled. "You willing to make a little wager?"

Lula's eyes lit up. "What you got in mind granny?"

"I got $50 bucks that says Ranger doesn't last four days."

Lula nodded, "Okay. I'll take that bet because Batman is the shit an I know he'll last a week."

We shook. Watch out Mister Ranger-Batman because you're in for an experience of a lifetime.

Unknown POV:

I put the finishing touches on the music box. It was the most exquisite piece I'd ever created. It was a shame that it would be destroyed, but I was pleased that it would also take her out of his life so he could finally love me. I never understood why mother gave _me_ away but kept _her_. What was so great about her? They never even gave me a chance! I was just a baby. They couldn't know what I might be one day. How can a parent do that? Just decide to throw away a child? What did I do that was so wrong?

I felt myself getting out of control. I knew I needed to focus on the task at hand so I could accomplish my goal. Once I had taken her out, I was going after the other two. Big Sister, Aka the original Little Miss Perfect, and dear, dear mother. Then he would be all mine. I know he will love me. Every time I talk to him I feel so happy inside. He's so kind to me. I'm sure he will understand once I explain everything to him. My eyes narrow, because if he refuses me, then I'll be forced to have him join them.

Binkie's POV:

I couldn't believe it when I watched Stephanie drive right into Ranger's Porsche. Man what a sight! Then when the boss said no sweets, no exceptions…I knew I had to get the betting going. A lot of the guys were giving Ranger the better part of a week before he caved and changed his no sweets rule for her. I mean after all, let's face it…he's Ranger. I was surprised when Tank bet three weeks. I know that surprised a lot of the guys. We were all thinking no way could even Ranger deal with her for three weeks! Man did we have a lot to learn. I'll have to say this for Steph though, she had staying power. We all avoided her like the plague. Any time we saw her going in one direction, we were suddenly needed ASAP in the opposite direction.

There were some benefits to Steph being off sweets. For those of us fortunate enough to be in the gym with her while she was exercising, we got quite a show. I'd never seen someone put so much effort into working out. Too bad the equipment was faulty. But that didn't stop Steph from moving onto the next piece of equipment and trying again. Like the day after Ranger said the no sweets rule applied to everyone, no exceptions; she stepped on the treadmill and couldn't get the belt going no matter what she tried. Lester told her what to do from across the gym. When the machine still wouldn't go Steph glared at Les and said, "Why don't you come over here and show me?" Les's reply was he still had 10 miles on his to go and he didn't want to get docked on his score because he stopped mid-stream. When we gave him a puzzled look wondering what he was talking about he sent each of us a glare and the bell went off. I never thought I'd see the day Lester Santos was afraid of a woman.

Anyway, no matter what she tried, Stephanie just couldn't get the treadmill to work. She grabbed the wires sticking out of the machine and ripped them out before grinning and saying, "No wonder you wouldn't work. You're broken." And she nonchalantly walked over to the next treadmill. When that one wouldn't work for her several of the guys ran for cover. I figured I was far enough away to be out of reach, or at least I'd have a decent running start. By the time she stepped on the last treadmill; (the one Les was using but after a look from her he gladly stepped down and walked at a killer pace to the other side of the room) Ranger was entering the room for his workout. He was still really pissed from the night before when someone, who shall remain nameless, let Vanessa into his apartment and she trashed the place. Lucky for Steph we erased the video.

Ranger watched her on the treadmill and the anger dissipated and his eyes took on a glint. I was glad I hadn't run when the others made tracks because this would be worth any pain to watch. Ranger went to one of the damaged treadmills and gave it the once over. He made his way to each of them and seeing the damage he went on to the last one where Stephanie was currently trying to get the machine to work. Ranger stood there with a half-smile as he watched her struggle. When she grabbed the wires to yank them out of commission Ranger put his hand over hers and said, "Don't you think you should turn the machine on before you try destroying it for not working right?"

She looked at the machine and frowned, then looked at Ranger standing there smugly and she stomped on his good foot before storming out of the gym. Ranger had a death grip on the treadmill as he tried to favor his broken ankle and check out his newly injured foot as well. When Bobby went over to help him, I heard Ranger growl but didn't hear what he said. Then to add insult to injury when Ranger said he was going up to rest his foot, Bobby told him he couldn't because Bomber used his apartment to shower and change for work.

Over the next few weeks, as I marked all the guys off once the time for their pick of a date had passed, I noticed that there were only three names remaining. Apparently Tank wasn't the only one that thought Ranger had a load of staying power. The three names that remained when we headed into that third week were Bobby, Hector and Tank. Even funnier still was that they had all picked 25 days so we had to run it down to the hours. We were all anxiously waiting to see if they were right or if all three were wrong.

Stephanie's POV:

I went into work the next day determined to outlast Ranger. When I arrived at the gym I was already feeling the effects because I'd turned down pineapple upside down cake the night before. I went into the gym and got on the first treadmill but had no luck in getting the damn thing to go. Lester called out directions from across the gym but none of them worked. When I told him to come here and tell me, he gave me some excuse about not wanting to get docked for interrupting his workout. I couldn't take it anymore and grabbed the wires and yanked them out. At least the machine had a reason for not working now. I was thoroughly frustrated when none of the treadmills worked. Finally, I went over and commandeered Les's. He flipped the machine off and I sent him a glare. Fine! Be that way for all I care. Les beat a hasty retreat to a machine on the other side of the gym and I got on the treadmill. Nothing! I was beyond frustrated when Ranger walked in and started inspecting the treadmills. By the time he reached where I was, I was ready to rip the wires out of this one as well.

Ranger stood there with a half-smile as he watched me struggle. When I grabbed the wires to yank them out of commission Ranger put his hand over mine and said, "Don't you think you should turn the machine on before you try destroying it for not working right?"

I looked at the machine and frowned, then looked at Ranger standing there smugly and I stomped on his good foot before storming out of the gym. I headed up to 7 to shower and change. I never gave a thought with checking with Tank to see if other arrangements needed to be made since Ranger was definitely back. I showered and dressed for the day. I pulled on a pair of black jeans, socks, my Doc Martins, and a black tank top. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and added makeup. Three coats of mascara didn't seem like enough so I added a fourth. I grabbed my gear and on my way out of the apartment I noticed that someone had definitely trashed the place. I smiled wryly and wondered if the love birds had a fight last night. I stowed my bag at my desk and then headed into the conference room. I grabbed a couple of bagels and the container of strawberry cream cheese as well as a cup of coffee and made my way to the cushy chair. I sat down and proceeded to eat my breakfast. I had just enough strawberry cream cheese for both my bagels and threw the empty container into the trash.

I was looking through the file we would be going over this morning and deciding on the important points I wanted the guys to focus on. After all, I'd done the search on Tarrance Weatherly and I also had the inside scoop since Tarrance lived in the Burg. I glanced up from time to time as the guys all entered and noticed they started smiling when they saw me seated at the table. What was up with that I wondered? Anyway, Tank and Ranger walked into the room and made their way to where I was sitting. Tank sat down beside me and winked and I got a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach as my eyes were drawn to Ranger.

Ranger lifted an eyebrow and commented, "You're in my chair Babe."

I frowned, "This is Tank's chair and he's been letting me use it."

"It's Tank's chair when I'm not here. I'm here now so it's my chair."

I narrowed my eyes and folded my arms across my chest as I lifted my chin. "Possession is nine-tenths of the law."

He narrowed his eyes on me and leaned forward till our foreheads were nearly touching. His voice was whisper soft, dark and deadly as he spoke, "Don't tangle with me Babe. You won't win. Now move your cute little ass before I move it for you."

I raised an eyebrow and said, "You don't scare me Batman. I've lived with grandma Mazur for the better part of 30 years. If I can survive that, I can survive anything."

Ranger paused for a moment and then he had that look that Tank got when he made me walk down all those steps and then back up again. He growled and lifted me in the air. The motion reminded me of Jorgio Lubnick attacking me and I swung my foot with all my might, connecting with Ranger's groin. He dropped me and bent over double in pain. Of course, all that movement without his crutches and he would have landed on the floor except I pushed him into the chair that had started everything. Ranger growled low and threatening and my eyes widened and I took off out of the room.

_Sorry I haven't been able to answer my reviews yet. I was very disappointed not to be able to get into my emails, but apparently there is something wrong somewhere because my computer freezes every time I get to yahoomail. I will answer them as soon as I can. Hopefully I will be able to load this on the BCRU site as well but not sure if I can get in. Keep your fingers crossed they get it working soon. Thanks to all of you wonderful people._


	11. The Deal

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 11: The Deal

Stephanie's POV:

I hid out at my desk for the rest of the day. No way was I going back to the conference room. Of course my desk was the first place anyone was going to look so I had to be inventive. I took my laptop and a few searches and slid in that space where my legs would normally go. It was cramped, but I was just able to manage things. Whenever one of the guys would come over I'd stay real still. The only down side was my hand was killing me by the end of the day. Also, I was starving and had a splitting headache. I knew the headache was because of not having any sweets. By the time I was threw for the day all I wanted was to pull every hair out of Ranger's head for making me go through this. I wondered how _he'd_ like it if I messed with his _sex_ life. I thought better of that idea because I didn't think it was right to do that to Vanessa.

I slid my laptop out of my hiding spot and inched out backwards since I couldn't turn around in the cramped confines. I was making good progress when my back collided with a male leg. I looked up and froze. The very person I was trying to avoid was standing there watching me crawl out of my hiding spot. He raised an eyebrow and motioned to my safety spot. "Having fun?"

I glared. I tried to move my legs and get up but I was so stiff I could hardly move. He had the nerve to laugh. My gaze went to the nearest foot and I heard his growled, "You touch my foot Babe and I'll take that as an invitation to tan your backside."

I looked up at him shocked, "You'd hit a woman?"

His eyes narrowed, "I'd consider it more like protecting myself from further harm."

I finally got my legs working and stood only to find myself falling into Ranger. He gave a micro smile and asked, "Flirting with me Babe?"

I gave him my best Burg glare and replied, "In your dreams Batman!"

I struggled away from him. I put the laptop on the desk and gathered all the papers I had sent to the printer. I tried to ignore him as I sorted through the papers and put them in the correct folders. Finally I could take it no longer and turned to him and growled, "What? Why are you standing there staring at me?"

He shook his head, "Just wondering how the hell you've wrapped all my men around your little finger."

"You're deluded Batman." I lifted both hands, "I don't see anybody on my fingers."

He took hold of my right hand and caressed it gently as his eyes darkened. I pulled my hand from his grasp and said, "Go find Vanessa. I'm sure she'd appreciate your moves."

He stilled and his grasp on my hand got tighter, "What do you know about Vanessa?"

"Only that she's your fiancé and was very upset because you refused to see her because you were hurt and feeling less of a man."

His eyes narrowed, "She said that to you?"

I shrugged, "Not word for word but I got the picture."

"Did you let her into my apartment?"

I paused, giving him a wary look before admitting to letting her in. He stalked away crutches and all roaring, "Attention on deck!" I continued to clear things up and as I made my way to the elevator. As I got close to the monitors I saw Ranger studying the guys with narrowed eyes. I noticed the guys that had been on monitors looked like they were willing to take a bullet rather than deal with Ranger.

Ranger's voice was deadly soft as he asked, "Where is it?"

Manny picked up a tape from behind a potted plant and handed it to Ranger. Ranger's eyes narrowed on the two guys and spoke softly so no one else could hear. Both of the guys were looking pale and nodding their heads. I had a feeling this was all my fault and I couldn't stand to have the guys get in trouble for what was really my fault. I walked over and stepped in front of Ranger. He looked down at me and it was all I could do to continue standing there in front of him. To say he was pissed was putting it mildly.

"I take it my letting Vanessa into your apartment was a no no. I won't do it again. It's not the guys' fault. If you need to get mad at someone then let it be me."

The guys were telling me they'd take their punishment and not to worry about it. I shook my head, "I'm not letting you get in trouble because you're trying to protect me."

Ranger looked like he'd suddenly had an idea. He gave a slight nod. As a matter of fact, if I hadn't been looking at him I would have missed it. Suddenly the look he shot me had me wishing I'd never met Vanessa. "Alright Babe. I'll let the guys off the hook with a stern warning never to do this again or they won't have a job. Since my apartment will have to be totally remodeled, I'll need a place to stay while the crew is working on my apartment. You have a newly remodeled house. I'm sure you have an extra room there somewhere."

My eyes opened wide, "You want to stay at my house?"

Ranger nodded. "In exchange, I'll let what the guys did slide."

I swallowed hard. I didn't want Ranger in my space but I didn't want the guys to get in trouble either. I nodded. "I'll get a space ready." I had a sudden thought, "However, the space that's open is on the third floor."

Ranger smiled at me and I lost my train of thought as he said, "Perfect."

Shit! I was so in trouble now!

I motioned to his foot in the cast, "How are you going to drive?"

His smile got wider, "See that's the beauty of it. Not only will you be able to drive me to and from work, but you'll get to drive my new car."

I gave him a weak smile, "Sure. No problem. Uh, so are you ready to go now?"

"Just let me grab a few things and I'll be ready to go. I can have one of the guys take the rest of my gear tomorrow."

I let my head drop forward and headed for the elevator. If I ever saw Vanessa again I was going to thank her with a blunt object for getting me in this mess. I was surprised to see Ranger waiting at the elevator when I got there. Although I gave nothing away, I couldn't help but wonder if Ranger planned getting me to let him stay at the house all along. After all, what better way to hound me to sell? When we got down to the garage and I got a good look at Ranger's new Porsche 911Turbo, I thought I was going to climax right there. I couldn't wait to get behind the wheel and put the pedal to the metal as they say. Ranger unlocked the car and I slid behind the wheel. Ranger just stood there looking at me expectantly. I stepped back out of the car and demanded, "What?"

Ranger motioned to his leg, "I might need some help."

I shrugged, "Yeah, well call one of the guys. It's not like I can lift you in and out of the car. You're a big, strong guy, I'm sure you can manage."

He dangled the keys, "You don't get these till I'm in the car."

I stomped over to where he was standing and opened his door. He handed me his crutches and I held onto them till he lowered himself into the car. I then handed him the crutches and went around and slid back into the driver's seat. I noticed his door was still open and I glared at him, "Your foot's broken, not your hand. Shut the damn thing yourself!"

He narrowed his eyes, "Are you always this cranky?"

"You made the rule I can't have sugar and have to follow a damn diet. Live with it!"

Ranger handed me the keys and I started the engine and went to grab the gear shift to put it in drive. Uh oh! Houston, we have a problem. I looked at Ranger and glared, "You never told me it was a stick shift."

Ranger lifted an eyebrow, "Surely you know how to drive?"

"Yeah, an automatic!"

The bastard had the nerve to laugh. I glared. He held up a hand and said, "Relax Babe. I'm sure I can talk you through it."

He talked. I tried. When we finally pulled into the driveway I saw Ranger un-clenched jaw muscles. When the car stopped it wasn't because I'd put it in park and turned off the key, but because the car had stalled and died for about the 300th time. My hands were shaking when I pulled out the key and I felt close to tears. I'd never been through anything more nerve racking in my life. I managed to get out of the car and get his door opened and I just hope he didn't see the tears streaming down my cheeks. Ranger handed me the crutches and climbed out of the car. When I didn't hand him back the crutches right away, he frowned and lifted my chin.

Ranger groaned as he saw the tears on my face. He pulled me into his arms and spoke gently, "Shh Babe. It's alright. I'll get another car for you to drive while you're chauffeuring me back and forth to work."

I nodded. When the tears still didn't stop he wrapped me in his arms. Suddenly I realized it was all his fault I was crying in the first place because he wasn't letting me have my Tastykakes. I stepped back and glared at him before turning and heading into the house. When Ranger came in several minutes later, Lula's eyes widened and she said, "What's Batman doing here?"

"He's staying on the third floor till his apartment is re-decorated."

Lula grinned. Ranger's eyes narrowed on her and he said, "You already broke one bed; let's not make a habit of it."

Lula blushed. Grandma Mazur came up behind Ranger and her eyes lit up with glee as her hand came out and found Ranger's ass. He jumped and lost his crutches and his balance and fell over onto Lula. Lula landed flat on her back and Ranger was lying on top of her. Lula threw her arms out and said, "I'm in heaven. Batman just laid me down and took me to heaven."

Ranger scrambled off her so fast I thought he was going to get whiplash. I bit my lip and wondered what this might be worth. I looked over at grandma and saw she was holding her phone up and smiling. We finally made it in to dinner and Ranger took a look at the food on the table and then he turned to me, "You call this healthy?"

Grandma came to my rescue, "This is mostly Lula's. Stephanie and I pick and choose the crappy stuff. We're in training you know. I figure I might as well go on this diet with Steph and maybe those hot hunks at Rangeman will see what a Babe I am."

Ranger had taken a drink of water but started sputtering at grandma's comment. I hid a smile. When grandma learned Ranger would be living on the third floor till his apartment was redone, she got a gleam in her eyes. Ranger's blank look slipped a little and there was a glazed look on his face. By the end of the meal, grandma had told us all about Linda Mott's viewing, and how the undertaker had put her in the coffin in a nun's habit by mistake. Her husband was so upset he cut the habit off her exposing her surgically enhance breasts and the fact that Linda was in fact a Larry, complete with Larry parts.

I was used to grandma so I took her in stride. It was obvious Ranger wasn't used to frail old ladies with vivid imaginations. When the meal was over I showed Ranger to his apartment. I let him know he could take his meals with us if he chose, but we weren't fixing fancy meals or even special meals. He either ate what we ate or he got his own meals. Ranger nodded and said he'd eat with us so he could keep me honest.

We all headed for our own rooms and called it a night. Something woke me up about 3 a.m. and I went to investigate. Ranger had one crutch and was silently making his way to the stairs. I went to ask what he was doing and he put his finger to his lips. We made our way silently downstairs and after he was satisfied, he motioned me to open the door. I opened the door and noticed there was a leather bag on the doorknob. I lifted the bag and started to open it when I heard the unmistakable sound of a rattle. I dropped the bag and screamed in terror as a huge snake with a rattle on its tail slithered out of the bag. I didn't stop to think, I just reacted. I grabbed Ranger's crutched, nearly causing him to fall on his ass before he caught himself on the door. I took hold of the bottom of the crutch and started hitting at the damn snake slithering closer. I manage to hit the snake but the crutch broke in half and the snake kept coming towards me. Suddenly there was the sound of a gunshot and the snake stopped moving. I looked to Ranger and saw him holding his glock. We checked to make sure there were no more snakes and then Ranger locked the front door and grabbed my wrist to pull me to him.

"Don't get your panties in a twist. I need help upstairs and since you destroyed my crutch, you're it."

I reluctantly helped Ranger to the base of the stairway figuring he could make it from there and when I went to go he stopped me, "Has anything like this happened before?"

I shrugged, "Not like this. But my cars have been bombed, three apartments have been bombed, stuff like that."

Ranger's eyes narrowed, "Alright Babe. I'll have the guys come out tomorrow and set up surveillance. Before you say anything, I'm staying here now and I need to know I have a secure place to stay."

I rolled my eyes but I guess he had a point. I knew the guys would have installed a system if I had said anything to them. I was just hoping to deal with this myself…or rather not deal with it. Maybe I had been in denial land too long. This had been going on for months and I was in just the mood to take out my frustration on the hapless person that had been targeting me for the past few months. I nodded, "Alright. But I'll pay for it."

Ranger raised an eyebrow, "Why don't we compromise. I'll pay while I'm living here and once I move back to my apartment you can take over paying."

I looked into his eyes and felt safe. I nodded. He held out his hand and I put mine in it. The jolt that zapped me was a surprise. I'd never felt like this before. His eyes darkened as he pulled me closer. Suddenly the lights came on and grandma and Lula stood at the light switch just a short distance away, wrapped in each other's arms with grandma holding a sawed off shotgun in her hands. When she saw us she gave a disappointed look and said, "Dang! Thought I was going to get some target practice."

I smiled, "Not tonight grandma. Go back to bed."

I dutifully helped Ranger up to his apartment since he practically had a death grip on me, and left him at the door. Before I left I frowned and said, "Don't think this means we're friends. After all, you're the one denying me my treats. I'm trying to be civil, but sooner or later things are going to get nasty."

Ranger cupped my chin and ran his thumb over my cheek. "Good to know Babe. But I think I can handle you."

I left him and returned to my rooms. I slept fitfully all night. My dreams were plagued with a man in a Batman costume following my every footstep. Just before I woke up, I grabbed the crutch Batman was using to propel himself around with and I whacked the wall with it till the crutch was good for nothing but starting a fire in the fireplace. Batman shook his head and asked me why I did that? I started sobbing and told him because I needed a Tastykake. Batman wiped my tears away and said, "Shh, Don't worry Babe. I'm your Tastykake."

I sat bolt upright in bed in a panic. No! No way! Not going to happen! Nuh uh. I ran into the shower and washed off the remnants of the dream. I knew it was practically 8:30 in the morning and by the time I got ready and into work I'd be lucky to be only an hour late. When I got down to the kitchen to grab a bite of breakfast, Ranger was sitting at the table working on his computer. He looked up as I entered the room and then pointedly looked at the time. I glared at him and said, "It's all your fault so stop looking at me like that! Let's go. The sooner we get to work the sooner I get rid of you."

"What's your hurry Babe?"

No way was I telling him about the dream I'd had before waking up. I grabbed an English muffin and a coke and started to leave. Ranger took the coke out of my hand and replaced it with a water. Grandma and Lula's eyes widened but they remained quiet. I did marginally better driving us into work, only grinding the gears occasionally. When we pulled into the garage I was busy trying to figure out where to put my feet and instead of slowing down we rocketed forward. The airbags deployed and I could hear Ranger swearing as we were surrounded by airbags and a blaring alarm at the same time as I heard the distinctive sound of metal meeting metal.


	12. Substitutes

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 12: Substitutes

Stephanie's POV:

I woke up to find myself in Bobby's exam room. I groaned and suddenly I was surrounded by men in black. I knew, but thought I would ask to make sure it wasn't some kind of awful nightmare. Nope, no nightmare. Just cold, hard reality. I couldn't believe I destroyed another car….well…uh….make that two more cars. Apparently Ranger had called last night and arranged a rush job for an automatic Porsche 911 Turbo to be parked in the garage for when we came in this morning. Seems he was making a special concession because he didn't want the gears stripped anymore on his favorite car. Did the Turbo I'd driven really count as that since it was a replacement for the first one I'd smashed? Anyway, Ranger had arranged for the car and it had been parked just as he instructed. Only one problem. He failed to mention anything to me so when I pulled into the garage expecting to park in the usual place, once again disaster struck and not only did I destroy the parked car but the one we were riding in as well.

I'd never seen anyone so mad before I passed out. If Tank hadn't been restraining Ranger I think he would have gone for my throat. Speak of the devil. My eyes widened as Ranger walked into Bobby's exam room. Our gazes met and I saw his eyes narrow before he turned to Bobby and asked him if I was okay? Bobby nodded and told him I would be just great. Ranger was ready to turn around but Bobby called him back and mentioned his concern over the fact I had lost the three pounds I'd managed to gain in the past couple weeks. Ranger nodded to Bobby and told him to take me off exercising until I was at the right weight. Bobby told Ranger he'd already been trying to get me to gain but the only way he'd managed it so far was to have me eat whatever I wanted.

Ranger's gaze turned frosty as he looked at me and said, "Nice try Babe, but the no sweets rule still applies."

I was so pissed that he thought I put Bobby up to this. My hand latched onto the crutch closest to me and when Ranger went to turn and go I continued to hold onto the crutch, causing Ranger to lose his balance and he would have fallen if Tank hadn't been there to keep him upright. My tone was frosty as I said, "I didn't put Bobby up to that and I had no idea he was going to say anything. If I had I would have told him to save his breath because it's obvious you aren't interested in anything but your rules."

It looked like Ranger was going to come back and say something but Tank continued to help him out of the sick room. When I turned back to Les and Bobby it was to see them trying not to burst out laughing. At my look, Bobby quickly checked me out and gave me the go ahead to head up to the conference room for the morning meeting. I had a horrible headache and wanted no part of the meeting but knew a little thing like a migraine wouldn't excuse me from the meeting. I got up slowly with the guys help and Bobby handed me a special granola bar. At the first bite I felt a calmness descend on me and I smiled at Bobby and asked him what was in it? Bobby assured me it was all healthy junk and not an ounce of sugar. I felt much better after eating the bar and headed up to the conference room on 5.

Bobby's POV:

I hated lying to Stephanie but I knew if I told her the bar was homemade and had the equivalent to 2 Tastykakes worth of sugar in it, she would refuse to eat it on principle. I was worried about her weight loss. She was too thin now and couldn't afford to lose more weight. I figured if I got her eating one of these bars each day she could hold even at the 112 pounds and maybe I could get her back to the 115. I gave Stephanie the pre-wrapped bars I'd made and told her to make sure she only ate 1 a day. She assured me she would and I let her go up to 5. I gathered my stuff together and headed up to the conference room as well.

Stephanie's POV:

I know I told Bobby I would only eat one of the bars each day, but I felt so great after that first one I just couldn't resist having another one. Unfortunately, I ended up having eaten a total of 6 bars including the one Bobby had me eat. I was suddenly feeling like I had eaten a whole box of Tastykakes. That might seem impossible but I've done it too many times when it's that time of the month, or if I had been dieting and I tried to eat just one of the Butterscotch Krimpet. Oh well, I had to get to the morning meeting so I would worry about this later. I put the bars in my purse and grabbed the file I had from the day before and headed into the conference room.

I gave the comfy seat a lingering look but settled for the one beside it since that was the only other one open. I looked around at the guys' faces and had a sneaky suspicion this was a set up because they all had expectant looks on their faces. I took my seat and waited for the meeting to get underway. I didn't have long to wait for Ranger to join us. He sat in the comfy seat and barked out, "Report!"

I tried to listen as Tank went over the day to day running of Rangeman but let's face it. Most of this stuff was boring and I could barely keep my eyes open. I couldn't figure it out. Usually that only happened when I had too many Tastykakes. The next thing I know I am curled up and very warm. I vaguely heard sputtered laughter for all of half a second before there is total silence and I let sleep claim me. I rubbed my face against the most delicious smelling pillow. A couple of times it sounded as if there's a Tiger growling nearby and I jerk. But then I feel the warmth surround me and I feel safe once again.

Ranger's POV:

I wanted to get this meeting out of the way so I could get back to my office. I'd run life threatening missions that were less dangerous than the past couple days had been. I walked into the conference room and was pleased to see my chair was empty. I made my way over and sank into the comfort of the chair before turning to the men and barking out, "Report!"

Tank was about 10 minutes into his routine 30 minute briefing on the day to day running of Rangeman when I was thrown by Stephanie climbing into my lap and curling up. Tank stopped talking and looked at me with a stunned expression on his face. Tank didn't do stunned and neither did I but in this case I was totally thrown. The guys all started laughing until I sent them a look and there was instant quiet. About that time Stephanie started wiggling on my lap and I felt the blood in my body head south. She was a little restless so I wrapped my arms around her and she settled down right away. Somehow I managed to sit for 2 hours with her on my lap sleeping away as my cock throbbed and strained to bury itself deep inside her. Obviously that wasn't possible with all the men looking on.

When the meeting was finally over I asked Tank, Bobby and Lester to stay behind. Tank waited for the last of the guys to exit before he closed the door and rejoined us. Tank nodded to Stephanie and asked if I wanted him to take her to Bobby's exam room so she could sleep there. She started stirring and I looked down at her beautiful face and shook my head. I pulled her close and she settled back down. I told the guys about someone leaving the snake the night before. Tank told me about the cars, apartments, and the businesses that had been destroyed. I told the guys I wanted 24 hour surveillance on her for her own protection and I was ordering another car for her to drive and I wanted it tracked. Tank nodded and said he'd send Hector out to install the system right away.

I arranged with the guys that my apartment wouldn't be ready for me to move in until Stephanie was 100% safe. I winced at the sudden interest the guys were showing. I went to raise my hand but once again she became restless so I put my hand on her hip and she settled back down. Man I needed to get these guys out of here soon before I embarrassed myself. Her moving was not helping me regain control. When we had finally made all the arrangements, Tank once again asked me if I wanted him to take her. I shook my head and told them to shut the door on their way out. I waited till we were alone and then I gently woke her up. She seemed disoriented for several moments and then she sat up and stared at me in stunned horror.

Stephanie's POV:

I felt the soft brush of fingers over my cheeks. I finally managed to open my eyes to find myself sitting on Ranger's lap. My eyes widened in stunned horror as I moved to get off his lap I felt something moving under me and stilled. I turned and looked into his eyes, narrowing mine I said, "That better not be what I think it is!"

Ranger smiled, "You're the one doing the dancing on my lap Babe. No one to blame but yourself."

I glared at him and went to get up. His hand was slightly restraining me and I accidentally on purpose elbowed him in the stomach. My elbow was killing me and he didn't even react. I got myself up into a standing position and started out of the room. His commanding voice stopped me in my tracks and I turned to look at him. All I wanted to do was crawl back in his lap and let what was moving in his cargos loose. I felt the heat on my face as I tried to calm myself. "I got work to do Batman. I'll see you at quitting time."

Ranger lifted the side of his mouth, "Stay in the building unless one of the guys is with you."

I frowned and went to argue but he added, "That's non-negotiable Babe."

I rolled my eyes and headed to my desk.

Allen Flush's POV:

I watched through the binoculars as the door was opened and she took the bag and started opening it. I laughed with glee when she took the crutch and started hitting at my pet. My smile grew as I watched the crutch break and the snake slither closer to her. Unfortunately, because of that Vanessa, Manoso was now staying here and he took out his gun and shot my pet. I was beside myself with anguish as I stared at my dead friend. I had the gun out and was in the process of sighting when I had a cold chill race down my spine. I turned but I was too late. I felt the object come down on my head and that was the last that I knew.

Unknown POV:

I stood staring down at the man who was trying to take my toy away from me. He was looking up at me, sightless. He wouldn't be getting in my way again. I slowly moved through the undergrowth and made my way back to my car. I got in and drove back to my home. I parked and wiped down the car so no one would know I had been in it. I made my way into my apartment and headed to the shower. After making sure I had all traces of evidence washed away, I bagged up my soiled clothes and slipped into my leather outfit which consisted of leather slacks and a leather vest. I added the leather choker around my neck and brushed out my hair and added makeup. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled at the picture I made. I went over to my bed and sat on the end. I lifted the photo album I had been creating since I was old enough to take pictures.

I ran my hand down daddy's cheek and promised him soon. Soon it would be just him and me. I set the photo album down and stood to walk over to the dresser. I pulled on the gloves and grabbed the explosive. I set the timer and then wrapped it in the bag before carrying the bag out to the dumpster. I took off the gloves and added them before closing the dumpster lid. I turned and walked to the street to flag down a cab. I smiled as I saw who was in the driver's seat. I climbed in the back and gave my destination. As he drove me to my destination I smiled at him and thought, 'Soon daddy. Soon it will be just you and me.'

_I know this chapter is a bit shorter but this just seems like a good stopping spot for tonight. Thank you again to all of you who have sent reviews. Special thanks to the ladies at BCRU for clueing me into how many Tastykakes are in a box. There is a chance I might get to go home tomorrow so I'll still try to get a chapter up but it depends on how busy the day is. I will make every effort to get it posted for you though. Thanks, Christi _


	13. Busted

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 13: Busted

Stephanie's POV:

That first week Ranger was back went semi-smoothly. Every time I looked at him though I kept remembering that damn dream and how he told me _he_ would be myTastykake. I had managed not to destroy any more of his cars. Ranger ordered another automatic to be parked in his spot by quitting time and obviously these guys worked fast because the new Porsche was there. Not only that, but it was fire engine red! No way could anyone _not _see that car. As a matter of fact, Woody teased Ranger about the color but after a look from Ranger nothing more was said. I loved driving that car. Every night when we got home I had a smile on my face and every morning when we arrived at work a similar smile was gracing my face.

Lula took one look at me and gave me a knowing look. She spoke in an exaggerated whisper, "Girl, you and Batman get it on before you come home?"

I looked at her like she was crazy, "No!"

"Uh huh….then what put that satisfied grin on yo face?"

I leaned in and whispered to her, "It's the car."

Lula's voice came out a little louder than I liked as she asked, "You mean ta tell me that car give you a climax girl?"

I frantically whispered, "Shh!" but I had a feeling it was too late because I felt Ranger's heated gaze on me. I turned and panicked at the look in his eyes. Before he could say anything I took off up to my room and shut the door. Just as I started to relax my phone rang.

I answered the call to hear Ranger's voice on the other side saying, "You can run Babe, but you can't hide."

I slammed the phone down and threw myself across the bed. By dinner time I had recovered enough to join the others at the table. When I got a look at the table I was shocked. I looked at grandma and saw her smiling but Lula looked no happier than I did. Ranger on the other hand was throwing out the compliments to grandma left and right. How the fish was perfectly cooked and the salad was the perfect compliment. How did she get such a perfect blending for the dressing and she must have worked all afternoon to get this fabulous meal on the table. I looked at Lula and she made a gagging motion and rolled her eyes placing the back of her hand to her forehead. I had to agree. It was a bit over the top.

The next morning I put three of the bars Bobby gave me in my bag and headed downstairs. Ranger was just finishing up breakfast and pointedly looked at his watch. I put up a hand before he could say anything, "I know, I overslept. Again."

"Don't worry Babe. I'll start making sure you get up on time so we can be to the office by 8 a.m."

I glared at him but said nothing as I made my way out to the car and waited for him. By the time I ate my third bar I was feeling pretty good. I was able to stay awake through the morning meeting and was feeling pretty good. The guys had managed to close out most of the files I'd searched for them without any problems. Jorgio Lubnick however, was back out on bail and once again had skipped out on bail. Since he knew me, Ranger refused to let me act as a distraction to bring him in.

Lubnick wasn't letting me stay in the background though. He started sending me black roses with the message he was watching me. Ranger put Hector on him and all of a sudden Jorgio ran screaming from a back alley right into the path of a Rangeman SUV screaming, "Take me back to jail! Don't let him kill me!"

The strange part about it was that when Ranger asked Hector what he had said or done to the man, Hector said he had just learned where he was staying and was planning to go visit him. Jorgio wasn't talking to the police either. His family wanted to bond him out again but Jorgio refused. He said he was safer in jail and he wanted to live. Of course this put the guys into hyper-awareness mode and I had a 24 hour shadow no matter where I was. The security system at the house had been installed and we were as secure as we could be.

By the second week, I found my in box was getting a real workout. When I caught someone taking files from the other guys' in boxes and adding the files to mine. I went storming into Tank's office without knocking and both Tank and Ranger looked up from something they were looking at. Ranger nonchalantly rolled up the plans and sat on the edge of Tank's desk, the look in his eyes telling me I had breached protocol. Tank's look softened, "What can I do for you Little Girl?"

"I just caught someone taking files from the other guys' in boxes and putting them in mine."

I could see Tank wanted to smile but he was making a valiant effort not to react. "Well, you do the best searches. Even Rodriguez says he can't get the results you do."

I narrowed my eyes, "So that gives someone the right to go around taking files from the guys' baskets and putting them in mine?"

"Well no, but you do seem to get them done a hell of a lot faster than the guys."

"Maybe they aren't using the right search engines. The one you showed me how to use when I first started isn't worth crap."

Both Ranger and Tank stilled. Tank frowned and asked, "Just which search are you using?"

I shrugged, "If I know them from the Burg I put in what I know or sometimes I'll ask grandma or Lula what they know about them. I put everyone through the new search engine that was installed three weeks ago."

Tank paled, "How the hell did you find that?"

I shrugged, "I just typed in what I wanted and saw you guys already had it installed so I set up my computer to run the searches through that program."

Tank and Ranger exchanged looks. Ranger got up and went behind Tanks desk. He booted up the computer and did a few checks. He put in a code and stared at the monitor before him. Suddenly he threw his head back and started to laugh. I gave him a funny look and he turned to me. "Tell me. How is it a civilian with no clearance managed to get a government search program to work when to date no one has been able to figure it out? That's why it was sent here. It was hoped that we could figure out where the glitch was. It was on my agenda to look into it, however I was…" he looked at me and continued, "distracted and didn't get around to looking into it yet."

I rolled my eyes, "All I did was ask the computer a question and a window popped up. It asked me if I wanted to try the new search program installed on the computer and I said yes. Next thing I know a program popped up and I clicked on it. It asked where I worked and I typed in Rangeman. Next thing I know I'm doing searches on it and it's giving me detailed information on the people I'm running the searches on."

Ranger cleared Tank's computer and directed me to come stand next to him. I did as he asked and ran through how I got the program on my computer. When he typed in Rangeman another screen came up. I leaned forward and frowned. "That page never showed up."

Ranger looked up at me. After several seconds he turned to Tank and said, "Let's have Hector backtrack the program." He turned to me, "Go ahead and continue using the program. I'm going to have Hector trace where the information is coming from."

I bit my lip and turned to look at Ranger, "I'm sorry if I did something I shouldn't have."

Ranger winked at me and said, "Don't sweat it Babe. You may have found the key to what's wrong with the program."

At the end of the second week I stopped by Bobby's office to see if he had any more of those delicious bars, and to get the cast off my hand. How was I to know Ranger was also in the back behind a curtain having his foot checked. I walked in asking, "Bobby, isn't it time for me to get this cast off?"

Bobby stepped out from behind the curtain and smiled. "I'll be with you in a minute Bomber. How about having a seat."

I nodded, "Any chance you have any more of those fabulous bars you gave me?"

Bobby's eyes nearly bugged out, "You're out of them?"

I shrugged, "Yeah."

Bobby lowered his head, " Bomber, remember I told you only one a day?"

"Well yeah. But they were so delicious I couldn't resist. The first day I ate 6 of them. I kept it down to three the rest of the time though."

Bobby looked at me in stunned horror. He ran a hand through what hair he had and sighed, "Steph, each of those bars had the sugar equivalent of 2 Tastykakes."

The curtain separating Ranger from us was pulled back and he shot Bobby a look. Bobby winced and put a hand up, "I know boss."

Ranger nodded, "Triple time."

I thought Bobby paled a little but I was too pissed that he hadn't told me what was in those damn bars. I narrowed my eyes and said, "You had no right to slip me sugar without my knowledge."

"I thought I was helping you."

"I ate the equivalent of a whole box of Tastykakes! I crawled into Ranger's lap and took a nap! You might as well say I've been eating 6 Tastykakes a day! Do you know _why_ I make sure to only eat 2 each morning unless it's that time of the month? You remember what I told you about what happens if I don't eat enough sugar then? Well too much sugar before makes it twice as bad."

Bobby paled, "Steph! I am so sorry. I thought I was helping."

I glared at him and held out my hand, motioning to Ranger with the other, "Now hard ass over there is going to make it even worse because he won't let me have any sugar and if you think I was bad before….well, you better tell the guys this is all your fault and not to hold it against me." And then I knew I'd had too much sugar because I burst into tears. Great big racking sobs.

Bobby tried to comfort me but I only smacked him away from me. I didn't see Ranger stand and make his way over to where I was sitting. He lifted me like I was a baby and sat down in the chair with me in his lap, his arms were wrapped around me. He whispered to me softly in what sounded like Spanish. I found myself resting my head against his shoulder and settling down. I was vaguely aware of Bobby removing the cast from my left hand. Bobby bathed my hand and placed it in a brace. By the time he was done I'd settled down and was able to listen as Bobby told me I would need to wear the brace for the next 4 weeks till the hand had regained strength. When he was done I nodded before standing and hurrying from the room embarrassed about my outburst. When I got to the car I realized I would need to wait for Ranger to join me so we could make our way home.

I was debating going back up when I saw movement just outside the garage. The figure was all dressed in black with what looked like a ski mask on their head to make identifying them impossible. It looked like they were looking right at me and there was something in their hand. I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach and just as I was thinking I should get out of there, a black SUV pulled into the garage at the same time as the sound of a gunshot was heard.

Unknown POV:

I was rewarded for the hours of watching from my post across the street. I saw her come out of the elevator and I got ready to take my shot. I'd waited a long time for this. Too long. I smiled as I took aim. I had just fired the gun in my hand when I saw the black SUV had pulled into the garage. I didn't have time to see if I hit my target or not. I had to get out of there.

_I have to apologize. In the last chapter, Allen Flusher should actually be Allen Flush. I have corrected the mistake in chapter 12 and would like to thank the reviewer who pointed it out._


	14. Unwelcome Wakeup Calls

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 14: Unwelcome Wakeup Calls

Ranger's POV:

When the alarm went off I just knew it involved Stephanie. I was making my way towards the elevator as fast as I could but apparently I was slowing Tank down too much as he decided to give me a lift. He tossed me over his shoulder in the fireman carry and triple timed it down the stairs. When he made it to the bottom and through the stairwell door, he set me down to the side and continued on his way over to where Stephanie was lying on the garage floor. His gun was out and he was making a sweep. Vince and Ram were out of the SUV in a crouch, guns drawn as they swept the area with their eyes. I winced as I laid a hand on my abdomen. 'Damn! Tank has muscles of iron.' I ambled over to where Stephanie lay motionless, my heart in my throat.

I had just managed to get myself down beside her when she moved. I placed a hand on her cheek and whispered, "Babe. Are you okay?"

She moved and groaned. Seconds later Brown was there beside us running his hands over her. I wanted to grab his hands and tell him to keep them off of her till she was alert, but I knew he was just trying to see if she was hurt. Still, I didn't like it. Bobby grunted in relief and said she hadn't been hit with flying glass or a bullet. I nodded. Stephanie started blinking her eyes and stirring. She moaned and started to get agitated. Bobby tried to calm her but she just got more restless. I put my hand on her shoulder and she stilled, turning towards me even with her eyes closed.

"Ranger?"

"I'm here Babe."

"I saw someone. Black ski mask, black clothes. Gun."

She started to get restless again and I shot Brown a look to let him know he had better hurry the hell up and do something for her. He took out his flashlight and pried her eyes open to check them out. Suddenly her hand flashed out and caught Brown in the groin and he bent over groaning in agony. Lester chose that moment to join us and asked, "Damn Beautiful. Why'd you want to hit him there for?"

Stephanie glared at Les through closed eyes. "That damn light hurts!"

She whimpered and I gritted my teeth and turned to Brown. I narrowed my eyes and demanded, "_Do_ something!"

Bobby's voice was strained as he replied, "Man, I was trying. She's lethal. I'm guessing she dropped and hit her head on the way down. I'd say she probably has a concussion."

She whimpered again and it felt like someone had a fist clenched around my heart. I gently caressed her and she stilled. Vince made his way over at that moment and gave me a nod. I spoke softly so as not to disturb her. "Report!"

"We pulled in and a shot went through the side of the SUV. I dug the slug out and we can match it if we get a gun to match it to. The shooter was aiming at her. If we'd been a second later they would have shot her."

"Get it up to the lab. Have the police been called?"

Vince nodded, "Morelli's here."

Shit! Just what we needed. I nodded to let the guys know to let Morelli in. Something about the way he swaggered over to where I was sitting beside Stephanie put my back up. The concerned look and the way he paled when he saw her on the ground made me want to punch him in the jaw. I restrained myself and we let Morelli get the evidence. He was just finishing up when Stephanie started to open her eyes again.

Morelli smirked at her and said, "Cupcake, what did you do now?"

She raised her hand and crooked it for him to come closer. It was all I could do not to smile when she grabbed the hairs on his chest and yanked, "_I_ didn't do anything! This wasn't my freaking fault!"

Morelli winced and backed up before shaking his head, "Man, are you guys nuts? You have to get her some sugar before she takes all of you out."

I shrugged, "Sugar is banned here. She doesn't seem to be giving me any trouble. Maybe you just don't know how to handle her."

I looked down to see Stephanie lying still, her eyes were focused on me and she had a smile on her face that made me think I'd be safer walking into an armed, enemy camp. It didn't take Morelli long to get what he needed and take off. Bobby went to take Stephanie and I felt myself give an involuntary growl. Bobby gave me a pointed look making sure to take in my foot. I gave in and allowed him to help her up while I got myself up. I didn't like it that Brown was the one that lifted her and carried her to the elevator. I made my way over with them and rode up to the infirmary. Tank went to follow us but I sent him a look and reminded him he still had paperwork to finish.

Bobby gave Stephanie a thorough going over and determined she had a slight concussion but no other lasting effects. Since my left foot was the one broken I would have no trouble driving the automatic from Rangeman to her house. I assured Brown I would wake her periodically during the night to make sure there were no lasting problems. Stephanie was awake finally and she walked by my side to the elevator and I figured we were done for the day. I got her settled in the Turbo and drove us to her place. I caught a couple tails but was able to leave them in the dust with ease. I called back to Rangeman to have them check out the license plate numbers on both vehicles.

When we got to the house Grandma Mazur was standing on the front porch looking worried. I helped Stephanie out of the car and we made our way over to the house and up onto the porch. Steph's grandma took one look at her and asked, "Are you okay?"

Steph smiled and replied, "I'm fine grandma. Someone took a shot and I bumped my head trying to get out of the way."

"I've had an awful feeling for the past couple hours."

"I'm fine gran. I just got a slight concussion."

"Well come on in. I got dinner on the table."

We went in and joined Lula who was already seated at the table. Edna gave me a stern look as she placed a Tastykake in front of Stephanie. I went to say something and the old woman narrowed her eyes and smiled, "Feel like taking me on sonny?"

I figured since it was Stephanie's own home and I wouldn't know anything about it if I wasn't staying here that I could let it slide just this once. As long as she didn't have sugar at Rangeman I was good. I motioned for her to go ahead and she pushed her dentures around and smiled. She gave an abrupt nod and patted Stephanie's hand.

Once we had eaten and decided to head to our rooms, I asked Stephanie if she'd rather spend the night on the third floor with me or if she preferred I stay with her on the second floor. She looked at me for a moment before saying she would stay on the third floor. We made our way up, stopping at Stephanie's room so she could gather her night things and continuing up to my apartment. I told her to go ahead and use the bathroom and I'd take my turn once she was settled. When Steph came out of the bathroom I felt like my chin hit the floor. I had to physically check to make sure I hadn't actually reacted that way. She had on a pair of tiny pajama shorts and tank top. The outfit did nothing to hide her delectable body.

Steph started to head towards the sofa until I stopped her and shook my head. I nodded to the bed. "We'll share. You'll be safe Babe."

She gave me a funny look and said, "I never thought otherwise."

I caressed her cheek and headed into the bathroom. When I came out I was wearing sweatpants and a t-shit. I groaned at the picture she made lying there in my bed all spread out. My eyes darkened with desire and I just managed to rein it in before joining her on the bed and turning out the light. I made sure to set my watch alarm so it would sound every two hours. The first time I woke her up she swatted me away and told me not tonight, she was tired. When I tried again she grabbed the neck of my t-shirt and twisted saying if I wanted to live I'd let her sleep. I finally managed to wake her up and when I asked her what her name was she told me if I had any more dumbass questions to write them down and send them to her. Although I managed to get her awake every two hours, by the time morning came I was glad I wouldn't have to wake her again or she might make good on one of her threats.

After waking her at 6 a.m., I figured I would get dressed and do a few exercises before waking her to head into work. Stephanie put paid to that when she rolled over on top of me and was sound asleep within 2 minutes flat. I tried moving a couple times but a punch in the side had me lying still once more. Apparently she thought I was her pillow and I was damn sure not going to wake her up again to tell her any different. I closed my eyes and figured I might as well try to sleep and keep control of my libido. The next four hours were worse torture than being held in that South American camp when one of my missions went bad. Stephanie was the most naturally sensual creature I'd ever come across. When she settled her center over my throbbing cock I thought I was going to lose it. She started wiggling and the sounds that came out of her mouth….I closed my eyes trying to force thoughts of anything else so I wouldn't turn her over and take her right there.

I was eternally grateful to the fates when she opened her eyes and smiled. "Mmm. You smell good Batman. What is that stuff you wear?"

I couldn't help shaking with silent laughter. I brought a hand up and caressed her cheek gently, "I'll tell Ella you approve Babe. She takes care of buying all the toiletries for us."

Her tongue snaked out and she ran it over my neck. I stilled and turned us so we were facing each other in the bed. "Better be careful Babe."

She smiled up at me, "What's the matter Batman? Having trouble _handling_ me?"

I raised an eyebrow and gave her a half smile. Two could play that game. I covered her mouth and ran my tongue over her lips before taking her mouth. The pleasure of her mouth was addicting and I found my hand wandering down her side. I found the hem of her top and slipped it underneath for the return journey. I was lost in the pleasure of her when there was a loud banging at the door and I recognized grandma Mazur's voice saying, "If you two aren't dressed and downstairs in 15 minutes I'm getting the key and coming in with my camera."

Steph was suddenly shaking with laughter. "She means it too."

I chuckled and kissed her once more before letting her go so we could get ready. "Go ahead and use the bathroom first Babe."

She climbed off and headed into the bathroom. We made it down to the table at the 15 minute mark. I was glad to see the lox and bagels on the table and sat down to enjoy a bite to eat. Stephanie wrinkled her nose and went to the cupboard to get something else. She opened the cupboard and gasped, "Where's my peanut butter?"

Edna smiled at me and said, "Threw it out. Us Rangegirls gotta keep our temples clean."

If that old woman actually thought I'd ever hire her she had another thing coming. Stephanie stormed over to the table and sank down on her chair. "I don't _like_ lox."

Edna shrugged, "Then do what I'm doing and eat a bagel."

At that moment Lula joined us and she screeched when she saw what was on the table. "Granny, what you tryin' to do? Whittle me down ta nothin'?"

I looked over at her and said, "Might be better for all the poor, unsuspecting beds."

Lula looked to Ranger and her eyes got huge. "What you mean?"

I narrowed my eyes on her, "I know you were in my apartment and it was you and Tank that broke my bed."

Lula gulped, "Well…..gee….."

"Tank was thrilled with the extra paperwork that landed on his desk. As a matter of fact he can't wait to thank you."

Lula paled, "Sheit!" She turned to Stephanie and begged, "You gotta save me white girl!"

Stephanie patted her hand and shot me a look, "Don't worry Lula. Ranger's just teasing you?"

I raised an eyebrow but remained quiet. Stephanie frowned at Lula, "What are you doing home at this time of the morning Lula?"

"Vinnie called me last night and said the office was gonna be closed today 'cause Connie got herself hit by a car. She's in the hospital with some severe injuries. Vinnie said ta take the day off and he wants me to run the office till she gets better."

Something about that didn't set right. I planned to have the guys check into it when we got into Rangeman. A few minutes later we were headed into the office. It was nearly 11 a.m. before we pulled into the Rangeman garage. I helped Stephanie out and we made our way to the elevator. In no time the doors were opening on the 5th floor. I stepped out of the elevator with Stephanie at my side and suddenly she clutched my arm before her eyes rolled back in her head and she started to sink to the floor.

_Sorry I didn't get this done before midnight. I am home from the hospital now though so should be able to get the chapters posted daily again. Thanks to all of you reviewers that gave me ideas as I answered your reviews. A funny thing happened on my way to writing on one of them. I lost the thought from posting the response to the actual writing of it. Now I'm driving myself crazy trying to remember what it was I wanted to write. I'll bet that's never happened to any of you….right?_


	15. Paybacks & Misunderstandings

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 15: Paybacks & Misunderstandings

Ranger's POV:

"_Brown_!"

I took her weight in my arms and the guys came running. In seconds Bobby had her in his arms and was hurrying back to the elevator to take her down to his exam room. I was right behind him. In no time Bobby had a blood pressure cuff on her and was taking her vitals. I didn't like the frown on his face. When he got the needle out to draw blood it was either look away or explode and tell him to quit wasting time and tell me what was wrong. I knew he wasn't really wasting time. Everything he was doing was necessary to getting her better but I was impatient. Tank came up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. His voice was soft so no one would overhear. "She sneaks right in and latches hold doesn't she?"

I shook my head, "There's something light-hearted and alive about her. Like none of the darkness of the past exists for her."

Tank nodded. "You're going to cave on the sugar aren't you?"

I chuckled, "Not yet. I think if I get her to stick it out 2 more weeks she'll be through the worst of it and she'll be able to go without it."

Tank sent me a look and it didn't take a rocket scientist to know what he was thinking. I just raised an eyebrow and dared him to say anything. After several minutes Bobby was shaking his head. He looked a little on the frazzled side. He walked over to where Tank and I were standing and said, "I'm not sure what's wrong with her. I sent the blood work to the hospital with Hal and told him not to come back without the results. Unless the concussion is more serious than I thought I can find nothing else."

I made my way over to Stephanie as she seemed to be coming around. I noticed she was shivering and looked around for a blanket to cover her. By the time I had the blanket she was sitting on the edge of the table with her arms wrapped around herself. I wrapped the fleecy blanket around her and she seemed to stop shaking. She gave me a wan smile and asked, "What happened this time?"

I ran my forefinger down her cheek, "You fainted Babe."

She laid her head on my shoulder and snuggled in. "I'm really tired all of a sudden."

I looked to Brown. Bobby got his flashlight and told her he needed to look in her eyes. She let him without a word of protest. Bobby asked her a question and I looked down to see why she wasn't answering. She was sound asleep. Bobby pulled out his phone and called Hal. Hal must have told him the results weren't back yet because Bobby asked him to hurry them up. Tank stepped up and mentioned it was time for the morning meeting. Steph must have heard him because she struggled awake.

Stephanie reached up and patted my chest beside where her head lay. "I'm okay. Let's go to the meeting Batman."

She wasn't as steady on her feet as I would have liked but she wouldn't let the other guys help her. She clung to me. I helped her up to 5 and into the conference room. I sat her beside me and looked around at the guys in the room. The whole group was looking at me like I personally was responsible for hurting Stephanie. I narrowed my gaze at the room in whole and said, "You got something to say, then say it now!"

The men lowered their gazes and there was silence for several seconds. Lester spoke up asking, "Is there any chance that this is related to you not letting her have sugar? I mean, maybe there really is a medical reason she needs the sugar."

I nodded, "Bobby drew blood work. We're waiting on the results now. I don't want to see Stephanie suffer any more than the rest of you so if there is a medical reason for her to have the sugar I'll deal with handling the sugar ban."

The guys nodded and Binkie spoke up, "She's out like a light. The concussion isn't more serious than was thought is it?"

Bobby spoke up, "Hal is waiting for the blood work and will be back as soon as he has the results. That will give us our clues in what we are dealing with."

The men seemed to accept that answer and we got started on morning report. I listened with half an ear as the men went on to relay information. When Hal walked into the conference room everyone sat up and took notice. Well, I would have but Stephanie was plastered across my chest and I didn't want to disturb her. Hal took the results to Bobby and he quickly scanned the printout. He sat back in relief.

Junior boomed in his deep voice, "Tell us!"

Stephanie startled and cried out in panic. I lifted her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her. The rest of the guys were taking Junior to task for startling her and Junior continued to glare at Bobby. I put up a hand up for silence and said, "What does it say?"

Bobby looked relieved, "It says she's anemic. I'll need to give her a prescription for iron pills and that should take care of it in a few weeks. She might be extra tired for a while."

We were all relieved. I went on to tell the guys about my concerns about Connie's accident. Hector and Manny agreed to look into it and see what they could learn. I gave the men their orders for the day and one by one they filed out after coming over and laying a gentle hand on Stephanie's sleeping head. When it was just Stephanie, Tank and I, he came over and laid one of his big hands on her head. "Want me to carry her to your office boss?"

"I'll take care of her. Besides, I'm sure you haven't finished all that extra paperwork I gave you for you and Lula breaking my bed."

Tank glared at me, "I was trying to get her out of the apartment."

I shrugged, "She shouldn't have been there in the first place."

"Then give Hal the paperwork."

I smiled, "Ah, but you're the only one who can do it besides myself. It happened during your watch so you need to take responsibility. If you care to get back at Lula though, I might be able to help with that."

Tank's eyes gleamed. "Oh man! I am so in on that one. I'll get all the stuff ready."

I nodded being careful not to let Tank see the humor in my eyes. As Tank left the room I checked to make sure Stephanie was still sleeping. I gently caressed her hair as I narrowed my eyes and tried to work out the connection Connie's "accident" had to everything that was going on.

Stephanie's POV:

I woke up to find myself snuggled into Ranger's arms. I blinked my eyes to focus better on my surroundings. I rubbed my face against Ranger's chest and his hand came up to still my movements. I looked up into his face and smiled, "What time is it?"

"Nearly 3 p.m. Babe. You've set a new record for sleeping."

"I missed the whole meeting didn't I?"

I touched her nose and nodded. "Bobby sent your blood work out to be analyzed. Seems you are on the anemic side. He says you'll need to take some iron pills but should be back to normal in no time."

Shit! This couldn't be happening again. The last time I was anemic I had the worst two weeks of my life. I looked at Ranger and sighed. I just hope he'd let me live. Ranger helped me up and we made our way to his office. I tried to argue that I should at least try to work for a while but Ranger said not to worry about it. I walked beside him to his office and once he was seated at his desk he pulled me down to his lap. I watched him as he worked. I was having trouble keeping my eyes opened but managed it. As I watched him scroll through the screen on his computer, something caught my eye. I reached out and paused the program and backed it up to the piece that had caught my interest.

It was the article that talked about Connie's accident. According to an eye witness, Connie had gotten out of her car and pulled of a ski mask when another car revved it's engine and suddenly ran at her full throttle. There was a picture of Connie lying there on the pavement and something about her clothes and the ski mask comment hit a chord in my memory. I gasped and Ranger turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "What is it Babe?"

"It was Connie. She's the one that took a shot at me."

Ranger's eyes narrowed dangerously, "Are you sure Babe?"

I nodded. "She's dressed all in black and the bystander said she took off a black ski mask. She has the same build as the person I saw, and I thought I recognized them in the moment before they took aim and fired."

Ranger pulled me close, "I'll check into it Babe."

Unknown POV:

I smiled as I laid the paper down on the table. No one was going to get between me and my toy. In the end, I would be the one to take her out. I had planned a strike, but with these other two morons trying to cut into my action I was thinking it would be better if I lay low for a while. I stood and dressed, making sure I looked just right. I was going out tonight. With any luck I'd be able to claim daddy at the right moment to walk me down the aisle. I'd recently taken a job with Dickie Orr and our relationship had quickly progressed past that of employer and employee. I had a feeling Dickie was going to propose any day now. When he did I had to have my daddy by my side.

Lester's POV:

As the date for my pick in the pool neared, I looked for ways to help Stephanie so Ranger would bend his no sugar rule. This was the biggest pool we had ever gotten together. There was nearly 20 grand involved and the only four people still in the pool were myself having picked the three week time and Bobby, Hector and Tank who'd all chosen 25 days. With Stephanie's anemia we had all taken to watching out for her more. There was a list of stuff she planned to do around her house during off hours and so each of us was taking turns to help her.

Junior happened to be walking by when she was talking on the phone and heard her telling someone she planned on mowing the yard that evening. So, Junior followed her home and insisted on doing the mowing himself. He was almost done when he stepped on something soft at the same moment the mower hit something and died. Junior went to check out what he'd run into and after losing his lunch he pulled out his phone and called the police and the lab guys from Rangeman. Apparently, Junior had found the dead body of Allen Flush who had been missing for several days. Between our guys and the boys in blue they figured out that Flush was responsible for putting the snake on the doorknob. When it was mentioned that Stephanie recognized Connie as the one who took a shot at her, Carl Costanza had joking asked if she was having Rangeman take out all the people who were taking pot shots at her. When we got all the data, we started wondering if there was someone out there taking out anyone who crossed her.

The next day Steph was back at work plugging away at the searches when I happened to glance at her looking at white picket fences. I grimaced. Then when I heard her on the phone telling someone she would be by later to pick them up I rolled my eyes and stood so I was looking over the cubicle wall. I asked what she was planning and she showed me a picture and said she had arranged to pick up the equipment she would need. The look on her face was priceless and it would take a meaner badass than me to tell her it wasn't a good idea. I forced a smile and told her it was her lucky day because I had done a fence just like it for my grandma and I just happened to have a free evening. Her face lit up like Christmas and she told me I had to stay for dinner after then. I reluctantly agreed. I laid a guilt trip on Hal and Binkie to get them to go with me and help out. It didn't take long to get all the work done, but then the hard part of eating a meal with her grandmother was staring us in the face.

Ranger was amused as he watched the three of us fight off the advances of grandma Mazur, the fastest hands in the world. Each time she put something on the table she was grabbing at my ass. The worst though was when she'd asked Binkie to help her with something in the kitchen and I got chills running down my spine when Binkie cried out like a little girl and came running back into the dining room. He looked like he'd just been visited by Scrooge's three ghosts all in one go. When it was time to say goodnight, no one was happier than the three of us. We couldn't get back to Rangeman fast enough.

Yesterday Stephanie had asked Tank for dinner. I was surprised to see the big guy grin and tell her he wouldn't miss it. As much as I wanted to see up front what happened, there was no way I was putting myself back in the line of fire of Steph's grandma again. When I heard Steph invite Bobby as well I smiled wide. I knew I'd hear from Bobby what happened. I could hardly wait till the next day when I walked onto the floor to stop by the infirmary and find out what went down. I could hardly believe what Bobby told me, and then I wished I had bitten the bullet and gone and watched myself.

Bobby started out telling me about what happened when they got there. Ranger handed them a key and asked them to move a few things around in his room. Tank grinned and said he'd be happy to help. Bobby got dragged into going upstairs with. All three went up to the third floor and moved a few things around to make it look good. Then they all quietly made their way down to the second floor and Tank unlocked Lula's door and he took all her clothes. Every stitch of clothing went into a sack along with her shoes and makeup. In their place Tank left a granny gown and nothing else. Next he unscrewed the headboard and footboard, as well as arranged for the bed to collapse on Lula the minute she laid down. Not only that, but he arranged for the door to jamb the minute she shut it when she entered her room. He also nailed her windows shut and fixed her phone so it wouldn't call out. There was a note on the floor under the bed that read: _I hate paperwork! I've been doing paperwork for 3 weeks because you broke Ranger's bed. I think we just __**might**__ be even now! _

They made their way downstairs and ate dinner as if nothing were going on. There was an audio feed into the Rangeman vehicle Tank and Bobby were using so they were able to hear everything that happened to Lula. Bobby said grandma grabbing Tank's package didn't even phase him because he was looking forward to Lula's reaction. When grandma didn't get a rise out of the big guy she shook her head and muttered something about a waste. Apparently grandma thought Tank batted for the other team. Bobby said it was just like old times and Lula's screams were legend.

All through the week I watched Stephanie and Ranger grow closer. As a matter of fact, Steph had just walked into Ranger's office a couple moments ago. When she suddenly walked back out with the blueprints Ranger was keeping for his dream for the new Rangeman, I got a funny feeling. She looked devastated. She stood in his doorway with the plans and I knew from the tension in the air that Ranger had just walked onto the floor. He looked at her and recognized the plans. We all watched as he made his way to his office and got her to go back inside with him and he shut and locked the door.

Stephanie's POV:

I allowed Ranger to lead me back into his office and lock the door. I didn't want the guys to see me break down. I tossed the plans on his desk and asked, "Has this all just been a ruse to get my land?"

"Babe."

"Don't Babe me damn it! Answer me!"

"What's between us is real."

I motioned to the plans, "What are those?"

"Those are my dream for Rangeman."

I was in such pain I grabbed one of the crutches and swung it, clearing everything off his desk. "I really thought you liked me for me. Apparently you're more interested in my property."

Ranger stepped forward and took me into his arms. He held me even when I struggled to be free. "Oh no Stephanie. It's my turn now. I never lied to you Babe. You knew I was interested in your property. I tried to buy it from you. I drew these plans up after I bought this building. It's what I've been working towards. This is the dream I was willing to play government assassin for. I thought the property was mine and yes I was frustrated it had been bought from under me. But I have never used you to get your property. Nor will I. I've fallen in love with you Babe. I know we've only known each other a few weeks, but you touch my heart. I would never hurt you by trying to use you or take your property away from you."

I turned and looked at Ranger. I saw the truth in his face and I threw myself in is arms. "I love you too Batman. I was so scared when I saw those that it meant you were using me and I knew I'd never recover my heart if that was true."

Our lips met and it was several minutes before the pounding on the door finally registered. My eyes met Ranger's and I knew he was as frustrated as I was. In that moment I knew we were going to be okay. I smiled as I recalled him saying he loved me and I knew the second my words of love registered with him. Once again the pounding came and Ranger growled before gently kissing my cheek and stalking over to the door and opening it forcefully.

_Any guesses whose come knocking?_


	16. Marathon Mania

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. __**Thanks to Vanessa Loor for her help translating my English to Spanish. Any mistakes are mine alone.**_

Chapter 16: Marathon Mania

Stephanie's POV:

Ranger gave me a gentle kiss that promised more before setting me a few inches away from him. After several seconds he had his control back and told the person on the other side of the door to enter. My eyes widened as I saw Joe walk in with Tank. Joe was carrying a small, brown sack. Apparently he was there to tell us what they had learned from Allen Flush's body. Joe had several questions he needed to ask and some of them bordered on intrusive to say the least. Finally, I looked at Joe and asked him if we were really suspects. Joe grinned and said no but he was having fun messing with us. I narrowed my eyes and made my way slowly to where he was standing.

I spoke softly so Joe was the only one to hear me, "If you want to retain your most prized possession then I suggest you get out of here and_ stop_ messing with us because I am _not_ in the mood for your games."

Joe's eye widened and he stepped back a couple steps. He looked a little paler than normal but I couldn't be sure. Joe turned to Ranger and said, "Seriously, we found something that ties the Flush murder to the attempt on Connie's life. The Family is furious. They are also aware that Connie tried to take out Stephanie. The offer is out there that they would be willing to take care of the problem for Connie. I've let her know if that happens the police will know she was involved and I will personally make sure she fries for it. Connie knows Stephanie is well liked enough that I won't be the only one. She has let it be known that she was acting under extreme stress and has no ill will towards her. I know it looks like she has a guardian angel out there right now, but…"

Joe broke off what he was saying and I used the opportunity to say what I was thinking. "I don't think whoever is doing this has my best interest at heart. I think they are taking out the competition because they want the pleasure of tormenting or killing me."

Joe nodded, "I think you're right Cupcake."

At Joe's use of my nickname I heard a low growl. Joe backed up another step and put both hands up in surrender. "You have no competition from me Manoso. We've been there and done that and believe me, I don't have what it takes to handle this one."

I frowned at the less than flattering way Joe was talking about me. I was about to say something but Joe continued, "As a matter of fact I brought you a little present. Don't be too proud to use it or she may put a very important part of you into a coma. For a while I thought she broke mine." With that he shook his head and left.

Ranger opened the brown paper sack and pulled out a bottle of Viagra. He threw back his head and started laughing. I noticed the note attached to the bottle and ripped it off so I could read it.

_Don't be too proud to use the contents. It's the only way to keep up with her since you've banned sugar. Your only other option is to let her have sugar. The more sugar she has the better for you. If my calculations are right, you are in for a __**very**__ eventful week. If you survive this you can survive anything. Don't throw out the idea of being devious._

I looked into Ranger's laughing eyes and narrowed mine. "Morelli's an ass. Are you going to listen to an ass?"

Ranger wrapped me in his arms and hugged me close. "Don't worry Babe."

Our mouths met and after several heated moments Ranger pulled back and our eyes met. He touched my nose, "Let's take this show on the road. I happen to know there is an empty bed on 7 going to waste. The re-modeling crew is taking a few days off."

I smiled, "What are we waiting for?"

Ranger led me out of his office and over to the elevator. He brought the brown sack with him because he said it would be better than the guys finding it. We headed up to his apartment on 7. I had to admit, Vanessa had done a thorough job in trashing his apartment and I felt bad for being the one to let her in. I followed Ranger to the bedroom and moments later we were both naked and going at it like we had gone without for too long. In my case that was more fact than fiction. I vaguely recall making a phone call to grandma Mazur and telling her I was working on a case and wouldn't be home for a few days. After that the only thing I was aware of was Ranger and his magnificent body. The man was a wizard when it came to sex. No, that was wrong. This felt like so much more than sex. This felt like making love.

Ranger's POV:

I loved every part of being with Stephanie. We made love numerous times and she was always ready for more. I had always thought I was a highly sexed individual but I had to admit by the end of that first evening I was finding it a struggle to keep up. It didn't feel like just sex though. It felt like we were making love. I could feel her emotions pouring over me even as I put all my feelings for her in the loving. She called her grandmother to let her know she was working on a case and so wouldn't be home the next few nights. I smiled and had every intention of making sure she had the workout she was thinking of.

We made love three times before sleep claimed her. I enjoyed watching her sleep and was just about to wake her so we could get something to eat when her eyes popped open and she turned to smiled at me. I had never been on the receiving end of that much feminine aggression and had to admit it was quite a turn on. We went at it hot and heavy and when we went over the edge we were calling each other's names. This time when she went to sleep I joined her. I was satisfied in every pour of my being.

I'm not sure how long I had been sleeping when I felt her lips nibbling on my cock. There was a slight hint of pain there as my cock came alive once again. I opened my eyes, now fully awake and couldn't believe she was ready to go again. This had to be the eighth time! Good thing I made a habit of keeping myself in such great shape. It didn't take long before she had me sitting up and taking notice. I rolled us over and let my mouth taste every inch of her delectable body. I spent extra time on her nipples and as my mouth paid homage to one I let my hand show the other breast equal pleasure. When my lips covered her mound she bucked as my tongue slipped inside her. I was just about to smile when her mouth swallowed my cock. We moaned and the tempo increased until we were both going off like firecrackers. She didn't give me time to breath before she had moved beneath me and begged me to be inside her. I obliged, thrusting to the hilt. She kept wiggling her beautiful body until the tempo was so quick I thought we were going to fly off into space. When she cried out in orgasm I followed her over the edge, crying out her name as we slumped still connected.

Sleep claimed me and for several hours I was aware of nothing. When my alarm went off to let me know it was 5 a.m., I blindly reached out and switched it off. I was too tired to move. Then I felt a soft hand cup my balls and a tongue starting to lick every inch of my groin. I thought maybe I could feign sleep but unfortunately for me she giggled and said she knew I was awake because she heard me shut off the alarm. With my eyes still closed I glared at the alarm and promised to make it pay for this. Her mouth did a sucking motion that had me coming awake and groaning in delight at the painful pleasure pulsing through me.

The next three days were more of the same. We would catch short naps only for Stephanie to wake up ready to start all over again. By the end of the second day I was looking at those damn blue pills Morelli had brought with longing. I fought against it though. I was in better shape than Morelli. By the third day every stroke was more pain than pleasure and I wondered that Stephanie didn't seem to be feeling the pain. Again I looked longingly at the sack but decided my luck I'd get the erection that wouldn't go down and then I would have to explain to the emergency room doctor that I took a Viagra because I couldn't keep up with my girlfriend. Not going to happen. I started getting more inventive. I started using my mouth, tongue and fingers to bring her to the brink of pleasure over and over before finally letting her go over the edge. The only problem is the more that I gave her the more she wanted. The next round she would insist on my being inside her. The pleasure was such sweet pain.

On the dawn of the 4th day, I woke to Stephanie on top of me massaging my cock into action. I moaned in pain but she smiled thinking I was enjoying it. Every muscle in my body ached with her brand of sweet torture. When she came I was stunned she was every bit as ready to go again as if it had been days since we had made love instead of just seconds. Finally, I could take it no longer and decided I needed to find a way to get some sleep so I could re-charge my batteries. I pulled her to me and asked, "Are you sore Babe?"

She moaned, "Not at all. I have to thank you Batman."

I chuckled, "For what Babe?"

"For insisting I not eat sugar. This is the best it's ever been."

I stilled, "What do you mean Babe"

She blushed, "I get a little _horny_ the week before I start my period. It gets worse when I try going without sugar. Last time was when Morelli and I were together a couple years ago. I _broke_ little Joey for a while."

I couldn't stop the smile, "You _broke_ his cock Babe?"

She shrugged, "I thought I did. I tried to get him up and he just stayed flat as a pancake."

I kissed her, "I'm put together better."

She grinned, "I'll say. I've never met anyone that could keep up with me when I get like this. Not that there have been that many. Just Joe and a guy I dated in college and now you. I guess being off sugar isn't too bad since you can more than keep up. Of course only Joe and you have had to deal with my being anemic as well. For some reason that makes it even worse and I just can't seem to get enough."

I kissed her and said, "I need to go call Ella for breakfast. What would you like?"

She pouted, "You won't let me have what I really want so I'll settle for having you."

I gave nothing away even though I winced inwardly, "What won't I let you have Babe?"

"I want a Butterscotch Krimpet in the worst way but you made all the guys get rid of their Tastykakes."

I paused as if I was debating something internally, "I'll see what I can do for you Babe."

"What about your no sugar ban?"

I kissed her and smiled, "Babe, I'm beginning to believe I can't deny you anything." I touched her nose with my forefinger and continued, "I'll be right back."

I took my phone and went out to the kitchen. I called Ella and asked, "Ella, do you have any Tastykakes?"

The laughter on the other end told me I was busted but I didn't care. I was desperate here. Then she dashed my hopes, "Sorry Ranger I don't. However I think Tank, Bobby and Hector each have a box."

"Thanks."

I hung up and called Tank. The bastard didn't even bother for a normal greeting, he just laughed. I growled, "Ella says you have Tastykakes. I need you to bring them upstairs."

Tank managed to quiet his laughter enough to respond, "I'll be glad to in another 8 hours Rangeman."

My eyes narrowed, "Why 8 hours?"

"It's a nice round number."

I disconnected the call and hit Brown's number. When the line connected I could hear both Bobby and Tank laughing their asses off. I barked, "Brown!"

Bobby was still laughing as he tried to say, "I'll be up in 4 hours boss."

I disconnected again and pressed in Hector's number. As soon as he answered I said, "se que tienes una caja de TastyKakes y necesito que me la traigas aca arriba lo mas pronto posible." (_I know you have a box of Tastykakes and I need you to bring them up here ASAP_)

I could hear the smile on Hector's face as he replied, "si, mi amigo. Subo enseguida." (_Yes my friend I will be right up._)

I closed my eyes and said, "apostaron sobre esto tambien verdad?" (_You bet on this too didn't you?_)

There was just a hint of laughter as Hector responded, "Si." (_Yes._)

I disconnected and opened the door so Hector could enter when he got up here. He was smiling from ear to ear when he exited the stairwell with the box of Tastykakes in his hand. He handed them to me and thanked me for making him a richer man. I glared and turned to take the treats into Stephanie. The moment her eyes took in the box she dove for it. In seconds she had the box open and had taken a huge bite of the treat. The things that woman could do to a man with her moans. Unfortunately for me what she was doing to me was more painful than I would like.

Stephanie smiled at me, "Does this mean you've lifted your ban on sweets?"

"Not totally Babe. However I've had reason to revisit Brown's stand on allowing you to have the Tastykakes and the other food necessary to get you feeling better and up to weight. I have my rules in place to help the guys maintain ideal weights. Since you react differently it's only fair to allow you the food that will allow you to operate at peak efficiency."

Stephanie's eyes lit up, "I can eat what I want, when I want?"

I nodded. "That's the deal. I'll talk to Brown about making sure there is an emergency stash of Tastykakes again."

Stephanie rose on her knees and wrapped her arms around my neck. She nuzzled into me and I felt the smile against me as she said, "Thanks Ranger."

I waited till she was done with the last Tastykake and then I kissed her and asked, "You ready to go back to bed Babe?"

She laughed, "Uh, gee Batman, I'm kinda on a sugar overload right now. All I really want to do is to sleep for the rest of the day if that's okay with you."

I smiled at her and laid her back, giving her another kiss. "By all means Babe. Sleep as long as you like. I'll just slip down to my office and do some work so I won't disturb you."

"Thanks Ranger."

She was asleep in seconds. As I made my way to the door I couldn't help but think halleluiah! I wasn't sure what I would have done if the Tastykakes didn't work. I ran down the stairs to the 5th floor and when I came out of the stairwell, every one of the guys was standing there and they all started applauding. Tank stepped forward and said, "I have to admit, you made it longer than Bobby or I thought possible. Too bad we didn't take into consideration Hector would have Tastykakes too."

I narrowed my eyes on him and demanded, "You mean the reason you two weren't willing to bring them up is because it would have meant Hector winning and since you two already lost you wanted his time to be wrong too?"

Bobby laughed, "Of course."

I gave them a look and then smiled. I could tell by the look on Brown's face that he knew what was coming next. "Alright." I said. My gaze went between Tank and Brown, "The two of you just volunteered to head out to Stephanie's house and check on grandma Mazur."

Both men froze. I smiled. "It's almost dinner time, why don't you eat dinner with her as well."

As they walked away it sounded like Brown was saying he knew it was a stupid idea. Then there was Tank's deep voice that came back with "Shut up before I hurt ya." I smiled as I watched them go through the stairwell door. I pulled my phone out and called Babe's grandma. I told her Tank and Bobby were on their way and the poor guys had left before they ate dinner. She promised to make sure they were fed. I could just picture her smiling ear to ear as she worked her dentures around in her mouth. Payback's a bitch gentlemen.


	17. Payback's A Bitch

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 17: Payback's A Bitch

Lula's POV:

Granny and I had been working on developing a BBQ sauce all day. I had spent three days at the office and had everything straightened up from that God awful mess Connie had everything in and since there was nothing else needing doing, Vinnie had agreed to give me a day off so I could work with granny on developing a sauce for the BBQ cook-off. I was hoping to take first place. A couple nights ago we'd made BBQ ribs for Steph's mom and dad. We had us all kinds of ribs, only thing is there wasn't much meat on them suckers and by the time we got done eating we was all still hungry. Guess you can't just have ribs for a meal. I had to admit the sauce we were currently working on was pretty kickin' it. Of course granny and I had been in the bathroom most of the day since tasting the stuff. I wonder if there might be a connection there.

Granny turned to me and shook her head, "That's good stuff but it sure does give a person the squirts."

"Uhn huh. I's just thinkin' the same thing. Maybe we best put this stuff away for a special occasion."

Granny got the pork in a casserole dish and covered it with saran wrap. Then she took all the pans we'd been using and put them in the sink ta get washed. No sense in cross contaminating our BBQ sauces. Once we got the dishes all cleaned, we got started on a new sauce. I let granny do the writing down as I put the ingredients in the pan.

_1 bottle ketchup  
1 bottle mustard  
1 bottle Western dressing  
1bag light brown sugar  
1 bottle Worchester sauce  
1 bottle soy sauce  
1 jar blackberry jelly  
1 jar Honey  
1 bottle Hot Sauce_

I mixed all the ingredients and granny and I both dipped in our pinkies and grabbed a taste. My eyes widened at the delicious taste in my mouth and I could see granny liked it too. She nodded, "I think we finally got us a hit."

We were just about done with the cooking when granny got a call from Ranger telling her Tank and Bobby were on their way out here to check on us and they hadn't had dinner yet. I looked at granny and I could see by the gleam in her eyes she knew exactly what I was thinking. After all, it was granny that saved me after my bed attacked me and saw the condition I was in after that awful night. Not only had Tank taken all my clothes but he got a granny gown from the 17th century I was expected ta wear. I swore to get even and I smiled as it looked like I was going to have the opportunity.

Granny put the casserole dish in the oven and we got the table set and everything set up just fine. Tank and Bobby arrived and they took care of all the things that needed taking care of. I could tell by looking at Tank that he was kinda nervous being here and all. Especially with granny making all her comments about it being a shame he batted for the other team. Poor Bobby was busting a gut yet trying not to laugh out loud because he didn't want Tank to pound him into the ground. When dinner was ready, granny called them to the table. Granny had heated enough of the good stuff for her 1 sandwich and my three. Ours was already sitting on our plates. There were other buns on the table and the casserole dish loaded with the homemade laxative. There was baked beans and macaroni and potato salads as well. We all loaded up our plates and dug in.

I almost felt sorry for Bobby…almost, but then I got to thinking he would be just the kind of guy to help Tank with the prank he played on me. The guys were very complimentary about the BBQ and granny and I just smiled and accepted their praise. By the end of the meal the casserole dish was completely empty and the beans and salads were gone as well. Granny ate like a bird, just the one BBQ and a spoon and a half of each salad and beans. How she could get full eating like that was beyond me, guess that's why she was a 90 pound weakling and I was a plus size, beautiful black woman. Bobby almost kept up with me with his three over-filled BBQ's and 2 helpings of each of the salads and the beans. When I went for my third helping he pushed back from the table and said he was too full to eat another bite. Tank on the other hand polished of more than half the meat in the casserole dish and had fourths on the salads, choosing to bypass another helping of beans.

When the meal was over granny and I started clearing the table and I was on my way to the kitchen with dishes when I heard a muffled oath. I couldn't help grinning because I knew granny had made her move on one of them. When she came through the door into the kitchen with a shit eating grin on her face, I asked which one and she said the little guy. I went back in for more dishes and noticed the guys were getting ready to leave the table. I decided to help granny out and stall them a little. After all, it wasn't fair her only getting one feel. I mean after all, I didn't want Tankie to feel slighted in the least so I got behind the two chairs and just stood there. Granny came back into the dining room and I moved so she could get in close enough to the big guy as I grabbed dishes and headed to the kitchen.

When granny came into the kitchen there was a glazed look on her face and she spoke in an exaggerated whisper, "That Tank is hung like a horse! He must be really into that Bobby because he was definitely excited about something!"

I narrowed my eyes and wondered. Now I knew Tank wasn't gay so I was wondering if that something that man was excited about might be little ole me. I smiled and sashayed back into the dining room. I made sure Tank was looking right at me and let my tongue roll across my lips and I gave that man the sultriest look I could manage. I was rewarded with a darkening of his eyes and he moved around on his chair to relieve the pressure.

When granny came back up, both the guys got up and said they had to get back to Rangeman as they had monitor duty that night and wanted to be back in time for the guys they was ta relieve. Granny and I smiled. I figured we'd need to call Stephanie, so as soon as the guys left I made the call. I was surprised when Batman answered instead of Steph. I didn't want to admit what I'd done to Batman, but I reluctantly confessed. To say I was surprised when he thanked me for aiding in his revenge I was floored. Granny just grinned when I relayed the message to her.

Ranger's POV:

When Lula called and confessed what they'd done to the guys, I couldn't help but laugh. I thanked her for helping me to exact my revenge on the guys. I knew she was surprised. I replaced Babe's phone in her purse and checked to make sure she was still sleeping. I went out to the other room and let Hector in on what was going on with the guys. He said he'd key in the rest of the guys and they'd handle helping them out on their monitor duty. I turned off my phone and made my way back into the bedroom and slipped into bed with Babe. Now that I knew I'd get some sleep I didn't worry about slipping on any clothes.

Tank's POV:

Man I couldn't believe Rangeman sent us out to check up on Steph's granny. The old lady had a few things for us to do which Bobby and I got done in no time. Then it was time for dinner. The smell was awesome and the food looked better than it smelled. I was a little on the leery side after what I did to Lula the last time I was here. It seemed like she wasn't holding any grudges though. I dug into the BBQ and it was fantastic stuff. Bobby got three sandwiches out of it and I polished off 4 sandwiches and the little bit that was left. Plus Lula ate three sandwiches and granny had 1.

When they started clearing the table I was on alert, but granny went for Bobby. I grinned as she headed into the kitchen glad she'd left me alone. Although when she came back in, Lula was behind me so I was trapped at the table. I was thinking what a fine woman that Lula was and didn't keep my guard up. Granny got in with a feel. The glazed look on her face as she went into the kitchen kind gave me a kick. When Lula came back into the dining room I think she might have had a clue I was thinking about her as she waited till I was looking right at her and she rolled her tongue across her lips and sent me a sultry look. My eyes darkened and I knew we had to get out of here as I moved around to ease the pressure. Bobby and I made our excuses and headed back to Rangeman.

I headed to my apartment when we got back. I wanted to make sure my cats were taken care of while I was on monitors. After giving them a couple cans of food and setting some treats out, I was just getting ready to head up when my stomach started cramping and I made a dash to the bathroom. Man! I felt like my ass was going to explode! And smell….man that reeked! I took care of business and went to head out. I noticed the cats were swiping their paws in front of their noses and shaking their heads. I turned on the vent so the smell would dissipate sooner and locked up before heading up to 5.

Brown and I arrived at the monitors at the same time. When we walked in Vince and Woody started fanning the air in front of their noses. I took a whiff of the air but I couldn't smell anything because of the stink bomb I'd dumped in my apartment. I noticed Brown was looking slightly uncomfortable so maybe he was having similar issues. Vince and Woody went over the basics from their shift and then they left. About fifteen minutes into monitor duty I was battling the worst gas I'd ever felt. When I could take it no longer I leaned towards Brown and slightly lifted my right leg. I noticed Brown was doing the same, leaning into my direction and lifting his left leg. Suddenly there was the sound of a Jet engine in the Comm Room and the stench was more than Brown or I could take. I vaguely heard swearing and someone complaining about someone letting off a gas bomb without passing out gas masks. Now that he mentioned it, Brown and I looked at each other and then checked under the table where the masks should be. Damn! Who moved them?

Things were going pretty slow and we were nearing our first hour on duty when I started feeling the cramps again. I turned to Brown and said, "I need to use the can. Be right back."

Brown didn't look like he was feeling too good either as he replied, "Hurry up because I gotta go bad too."

I nodded and went to the men's room. I no more than got my gear down and explosion city again. I was starting to get the feeling that Lula's BBQ was laced with a helping of revenge when Brown came barreling into the bathroom and barely got his drawers down before he let go with a bomb of his own. I hurried up and finished and made it back to the monitors to see Hector standing there with his arms folded across his chest and a grim look.

I winced before saying, "I think it was something we ate."

Hector raised an eyebrow and said to make sure we had someone cover if we were both indisposed at the same time.

By now Bobby had returned, "There's no controlling this."

Hector shrugged and told us Ranger wouldn't care for excuses after what we pulled on him earlier.

With that he left. Brown looked at me and said, "We're screwed."

I nodded, "We can use the extra time to plot how we're going to get back at them."

Bobby frowned, "Them?"

I nodded, "Lula and granny made the poison and Ranger for putting us in the path of danger."

Bobby frowned as he rubbed the top of his chest, "I'll help you with Lula and Ranger but if grandma Mazur is anything like Stephanie I want no part of her."

"Alright. Never thought I'd see the day you was scared of a little old lady and a little girl from the Burg."

The next 5 hours were the worst ever. Brown and I took turns in the bathroom and by the time our shift was over we could no longer smell. When Hal and Junior walked into the Comm Room they were wearing gas masks. I glared and asked, "What the hell are those for?"

Hal shrugged and said, "We were told we'd need them to come in here because the guys on the floor have been getting gassed out all night. They asked us to have you guys make sure and take a bath when you went home cause you both reek."

Bobby and I sent them glares and stalked off to our apartments. My eyes narrowed as I shut my apartment door and headed towards the bedroom. The cats were all cuddled on the bed and the moment I walked into the room they made a loud hissing noise and then they all took off to parts unknown. I headed into the shower and took a long, hot shower. I was about to head to bed when there was a knock on my door. I opened it to see Brown standing there.

Brown had a syringe in his hand and gave me a shot. "That'll take care of the worst of it. Drink lots of water and come see me in the morning. If we live that long. I feel like shit!"

I nodded, "Yeah, me too."

Bobby left and I closed the door and headed for bed.

_By the way, the recipe for the BBQ is **NOT** a tried recipe. It's off the top of my head and I have no idea how it would taste._


	18. New Developments

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 18: New Developments

Stephanie's POV:

I woke when I felt Ranger move from the bed. I stretched and yawned before turning to face him and ask, "Where are you going?"

Ranger leaned in and kissed me before saying, "I'm going to the gym to work out."

I yawned and said, "If I had more energy I'd suggest you crawl back into bed and we could both get a workout, but I'm so tired."

Ranger kissed me again and said, "Rest Babe. We have plenty of time for that later."

I nodded, "Wake me when you get back so we can have breakfast together."

"Deal."

I turned over and was out before he even left the apartment. It was a little over two hours later when my phone woke me from a sound sleep. I managed to find my phone and wake up enough to connect the call. I must have made a sound to indicate I was listening because suddenly Lula was telling me what had happened the night before. She was wondering if I had seen Tank or Bobby and if it looked like they were out to get her. I told her I hadn't seen them yet but as soon as I knew I'd let her know. I had just hung up when Ranger came walking into the bedroom. I smiled and told him about Lula's call. Then I got the surprise of my life when he told me he already knew about it and then he told me what had gone on the night before. I was doubled over laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee my pants. I couldn't stop laughing long enough to get up and get to the bathroom. Finally Ranger was clued into my situation and he lifted me and carried me into the bathroom so I could answer natures call before it was too late.

Now, I'd been working around the guys for some time and there was one thing I'd learned early on. They didn't forget a damn thing….ever! I knew Tank and Bobby would find a way of getting back at Lula as well as grandma and Ranger. I guess I'd just have to remind Bobby and Tank that grandma was an elderly person and they better not do anything to cause an early demise or they would have to deal with me. As to Lula and Ranger…well I had no doubt if the guys got into a pissing match with Batman that they wouldn't stand a chance. That left Lula out there to defend herself. My eyes narrowed and I decided to even the sides up a bit.

I finished getting ready and went out to meet Ranger in the kitchen. He pulled me in for a kiss and then said he needed to take a shower. I snooped around in the kitchen for something edible and wasn't having much luck. About the time I heard the shower turn off I heard the ping of the elevator and the sound of the front door opening. Ella rolled a cart into the kitchen and upon seeing me she smiled ear to ear. "Well dear, I hope you enjoy the donuts Ranger ordered for you this morning. Boston Creams. I heard they're your favorite."

I grinned, "They are. Thank you so much."

"No problem dear."

Ranger joined us and wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. Ella's eyes widened and her smile got even wider if that was possible. "Thanks Ella."

"No problem. Is there some news I might be able to pass on?"

Ranger chuckled, "Not yet."

Ella winked and left. Ranger seated me before taking his own seat and he placed two Boston Creams on my plate and then served himself Lox and bagels. I couldn't help moaning as I ate my treat. Every bite was so delicious. When I took the last bite, Ranger's eyes were nearly black pools of desire. I took one look and moaned. "Any chance we can be late to work?"

He didn't even bother to answer but stood and lifted me in his arms and carried me into the bedroom where we made the most delicious, sweet love. When we were both sated all I wanted to do was sleep. Anemia sure was a bummer. Hopefully the medicine Bobby had given me would start working and I'd soon have the energy I needed. Ranger kissed me gently and told me to sleep for as long as I needed to before coming downstairs. I nodded and my lids drifted down. The next time I woke up it was nearly noon. I got up and showered again and dressed. I made my way down to the 5th floor and headed to my desk. I took one look at the in basket and groaned. I sat down and started working.

I had made good inroads into the stack of searches when I came across one that really caught my interest. I remembered the story that involved this man. He lived in the Trenton area 32 years ago. He was a powerful man back then and had several affairs, including one with a married woman. He left town 6 months after he'd come here leaving at least three of the women pregnant and it was believed the married woman was pregnant as well. The three single women had done the unthinkable and had abortions. The married woman left town with her infant daughter for several months and when she returned with the 14 month old daughter in tow, there was no new born. Speculation was she'd either had an abortion or had the baby somewhere else and given it up for adoption. Three weeks later when the young woman's husband returned home on leave there was speculation that a divorce might be in the works. The young Ranger headed back to his unit and three months later the young woman was starting to show. Shortly after that the Army Ranger opted to not re-sign and he came home to his family when his contract was up.

I looked at the picture of the man in the file. Something about him was very familiar to me. I lifted the phone on my desk and called my mother. It took three rings for her to answer and when she did her tone was frosty. "Yes."

"Ma, this is Stephanie. I need to ask you some questions about Doug Maxwell."

The forced slam of the phone made it obvious she didn't care to talk about him but this was important. I had a feeling this was where everything started. I called back but there was no answer. I stood up with the file and headed to Ranger's office. I opened the door without knocking and walked in. Tank, Bobby and Lester looked up with amused expressions as I walked over to Ranger's desk. I noticed his jaw was a bit tense but the moment he was aware I had entered the room his jaw relaxed. "What do you need Babe."

I winced, "Sorry. Should I knock?"

Ranger's eyes met mine, "No Babe. You're welcome anytime."

I handed him the folder and he took it and scanned the contents. "Something come up with this guy Babe?"

I shrugged, "I think this is the man my mom had an affair with 32 years ago. I called to ask her about it but she hung up. The thing is I think this is related to whatever is happening around me."

Ranger's eyes narrowed as he passed the file to Tank. "Why do you think that Babe?"

"It's my Spidey Sense. The minute I looked at his picture I got some weird vibes. There's something about him that seems very familiar. I've seen him before. Or at least someone that looks a great deal like him."

The guys all took a look at the file. Ranger took my hand and pulled me over so he could pull me down on his lap. "Go ahead and do the search Babe. If we deem it necessary to talk with your mother then I'll go with you. I think I can guarantee she talks to us. After all, I'm more a threat than you are Babe."

I nodded and let myself relax in his hold. The next thing I know Ranger is gently waking me and telling me it's time to head home for the day. I mumble something about the time and Ranger told me it's 5:30 and if we plan on getting home in time for dinner we need to head out now. I got up and let him lead me to my desk where I grabbed my purse. I noticed there were several sheet in the printer from the search I started so I took them and added them to the file. I set the file on my desk and walked towards the elevator with Ranger. He helped me into the Turbo and drove us to the house. Grandma was standing at the door when we arrived. She had the biggest grin on her face I had ever seen.

"I take it you had a good time."

I grinned, "I had a fantastic time. Now no teasing gran, and this one's mine. No grabbing."

Gran frowned and gave Ranger a mournful look, "What a shame."

We headed into the house and once dinner was on the table we started eating. I had a sudden thought and turned to grandma. "Did you ever see the man that mom had an affair with all those years ago?"

Grandma looked up at me surprised. "I didn't know you knew about that."

"Daddy told me."

"I saw him a couple times. Never liked him, he was always throwing his money and power around. Your mother was seduced by it. Here she was a young housewife and mother and this man was paying attention to her. The minute she told him she was pregnant he tossed a wad of money at her and told her to get rid of it. Apparently there were three other women he tossed money at as well. I was surprised when he left town and your mother decided to visit a relative out of town for several months. She said she was going to have the baby and give it up for adoption. When she came back there was a coldness about her. She seemed more calculating. Anyway, Frank came home on leave a few weeks later and she seduced him and got herself pregnant. I think she knew he was thinking of divorcing her."

Lula had been quietly listening and she spoke up, "Holy sheeeit!"

I took the picture out of the file and showed her the photo. "Is this him?"

Grandma's eyes went hard, "That's him."

Lula looked over grandma's shoulder and her eyes bugged out. "I'll be damned! He looks like somebody I should know."

I nodded, "I think so too but I can't place them."

We sat at the table and ate dinner. Gran had gone all out making lasagna, garlic cheese bread, and tiramisu for dessert. Lula was pouting and said she knew why granny was fixing all that food Ranger liked and starving the two of us. Lula claimed grandma was fixing it so she'd win the bet. Grandma was setting a plate of grilled chicken and steamed vegetables in front of Ranger and she shot Lula a look that promised to get even. I frowned and asked what bet. Ranger covered my hands and told me he'd tell me all about it later. I met his gaze for several seconds before I decided to let it drop. I turned back to Lula and told her she'd need to be on the lookout because Tank and Bobby were going to be after her, Ranger and possibly grandma too.

While we ate we made some plans contingent on the guys and what they might do. Ranger just watched us, shaking his head every now and then, muttering the guys didn't stand a chance. When he meal was over and we had all the dishes cleared, Ranger took my hand and led me outside to the front porch. He sat down in one of the gliders and pulled me down on his lap. With his arms wrapped around me I was content to stay right where I was for the rest of my life. I closed my eyes but instead of the feeling of everything right in the world, I had a feeling of panic. Something bad was going to happen. I remained still in Ranger's arms so as not to give whoever was out there a heads up that I was on to them.

I leaned my head back and whispered, "I feel someone watching us."

"I know Babe. I've got their position down. I already hit the panic button and the guys should be here any minute. We need to make it look like we aren't aware of whoever is out there as we head inside."

"Okay. Just tell me what to do."

"I'm going to kiss you and then pick you up and carry you inside."

I nodded and his mouth swooped down on mine as he stood and lifted me in his arms. The moment we got into the house Ranger set me down and he told all of us to get down and stay down. I grabbed my gun and Ranger gave me a nod and a smile. He told us to stay together and then he left through the side door to join the men from Rangeman that had answered the panic button. Grandma, Lula and I were on the floor by the sofa in the main room with the lights off. I had a bad feeling I couldn't get rid of. Suddenly there was the sound of guns firing.


	19. A Shot In The Dark

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 19: A Shot In The Dark

Stephanie's POV:

I prayed that all the guys were okay and none of them had been hit by a bullet. I heard the door creak and footsteps on the floor. I maneuvered myself so I was hopefully facing the direction the intruder would be coming from. I felt the menace moving towards us and I aimed the gun at the doorway. The figure was all in black and the barrel of the gun was pointed in our direction. I knew I couldn't wait any longer so I fired at the same moment the figure in black fired. I knew the bullet hit the target and they fell back. There were more gunshots from outside. Suddenly the light went on and Ranger, Tank and Bobby entered the room. Bobby knelt down and checked the body on the floor. He shook his head indicating the person was dead. My hands started shaking and I felt like I was going to be sick. I'd never killed anyone before and I wasn't really trying to this time. They only gave me the one shot and it was necessary to take it or Lula and grandma would have been in danger. Bobby took off the black ski mask and I cried out in horror as I saw the face of the person I shot.

Unknown POV:

I watched from my perch as the woman I hated more than anyone pulled up and parked nearby. She pulled the mask over her head and got out of the car. I noticed she had a gun and I was just about to show her what happened when people tried to take my toy away, but the sudden appearance of several black SUV's had me scrambling to hide. The Queen Bitch got away from me. I found a place to hide and made sure I stayed covered. I could still see the Bitch making her way towards the house. There was someone else out there as well. I recognized her as the one that was following the man hanging around _her_. The one they called Vanessa sighted and took aim. I smiled. Wouldn't it be nice if _she_ suffered a tragic loss before I took her out? Hmm, maybe I should consider going after _him_. He turned in my direction and I saw the look in his eyes. Maybe not. I'm not suicidal. Things were looking up. Dickie and I had become lovers and soon he would be asking me to marry him. I needed to be sure I had daddy to myself before that happened.

Vanessa's POV:

I had decided to end this madness once and for all. I couldn't go on like this any longer and I decided that if I couldn't have him then no one would. I thought about killing the woman but he'd just find another one. No, the only way to end this once and for all was to take him out. I pulled up as close as I dared to the house without alerting anyone. The moment I got out of the car I knew there was someone else out there. I didn't have time to see who it was or what they wanted. I needed to do what I came for before I lost my nerve. I opened the back door of the car and carefully lifted out the rifle my daddy had given me for my 16th birthday. He was the best shot I knew and he taught me everything he knew.

I carefully made my way to the perfect perch and got situated. I'm not sure how long I'd been there when I saw the other car pull up and another woman get out and pull a ski mask over her head. I smiled and thought to myself, looks like they had lots of enemies. My eyes hardened and I thought maybe he would be tortured before I finally got him anyway.

I watched as they sat on the glider and I could feel the rage bubbling just below the surface. I lifted the rifle and sighted. Just as I was ready to pull the trigger he stood with her in his arms and went inside. Seconds later several black SUV's pulled up and men in black were spilling out and fanning out. Damn! Suddenly I saw my target leave the safety of the house and I lifted my rifle, sighted, then fired off a quick shot before dropping down. When I looked out to see if I had hit my target there was no one lying on the ground. Damn! I got situated again and was looking for my target when suddenly I was being rushed. I lifted the rifle and started firing off shots. I felt the sting as I was hit but I kept firing. I was determined to get him and a silly little bullet wasn't going to stop me.

Finally, there he was. I stood and took aim. I fired as the world went black.

Ranger's POV:

The minute I stepped outside the shots had been firing. I had managed to evade the first bullet and when I met up with the guys, Ram pointed in the direction the shot had come from. We moved towards the spot and suddenly the shooter started firing. We returned fire and continued to advance. When the figure fell we advanced the rest of the way. Bobby knelt down beside the body and turned them over. I was mildly surprised to see Vanessa. The sound of a gunshot from the house had me turning in that direction. I barked out for Tank and Bobby to come with me and we made our way back. As we neared the house there was the sound of gunshots behind us and I wondered if there was yet another shooter.

The house was dark as I had left it to make it harder on anyone trying to get in and find Steph and the others. We entered the back and when it was determined there was no longer a threat, I turned on the lights. I saw Babe sitting there with her grandma and Lula. She was shaking and all I wanted to do was to go to her and hold her. Bobby went to the figure on the floor and checked for a pulse. He shook his head and I knew the person was dead. I knew this was going to be bad on Steph because she'd never killed anyone before. I could see by the bullet hole in the wall that she did what she had to do. Bobby took the ski mask off the body and from Stephanie's reaction I knew it was worse than we'd thought. Tank's eyes hardened and grandma Mazur looked like she'd taken a hit to the heart.

I went over and took Stephanie in my arms. Lula wrapped grandma Mazur in her arms and rocked her gently. I asked softly, "Who is she Babe?"

Stephanie looked up at me with tears streaming down her face and the look of horror still there. "My…my…my…..mom."

Stephanie broke down in racking sobs. I held her close to me and whispered soothingly to her in Spanish. By the time she finally calmed down the police had arrived and the body was being transported to the morgue along with Vanessa's body. Morelli stepped forward and spoke in a low voice to Tank and Bobby. I had the feeling he was going to need to speak with Stephanie. Sure enough, he turned and made his way over to where we were sitting flanked by Bobby and Tank. Morelli stopped and spoke gently to Steph's grandma for several minutes before continuing on to where we were.

Stephanie looked up at Morelli and I noticed tears had once again started to fall. I wrapped her more firmly in my embrace. Morelli kneeled down so he could look her in the face, "I'm sorry Cupcake. I know there was no choice. Both Lula and your grandma said she was firing at you the same time you fired back. If I could take this away from you I would."

Babe nodded but said no more. At that moment Frank Plum walked through the door. His gaze went first to the blood stain on the floor and then to Steph. The moment she saw him the tears started again in earnest. Frank held his arms out and she catapulted herself into his embrace. She kept saying, "I didn't know daddy…I didn't know….I didn't know."

Frank Plum wrapped his arms around her and gently rocked her back and forth. "I know Pumpkin. I know. It wasn't your fault baby….it wasn't your fault."

I stepped over and had a conversation with Bobby. We were deciding if she might need a sedative to help her calm down. When I broached the subject she shook her head vehemently and said no, she wanted nothing. She didn't want to feel out of control right now. I agreed to let her work it out. As much as I wanted to hold her and comfort her, she needed her father more right now so I relinquished the role of comforter to him for now.

Stephanie's POV:

I couldn't believe the horror of the situation. I had killed my own mother. Ranger held me and I was thankful for his comforting arms. When Joe stopped by he was so understanding. I was never so glad of anything as when my daddy stopped by though. I needed him more than anything right now. I laid in his arms and felt comforted. We stayed like that most of the night. I wasn't sure how I was going to move beyond this, but I knew having daddy beside me would be a big help. I was still numb the next morning, but there was so much that would have to be done. Daddy waited till Ranger came down and then he told me he was going to take care of all the arrangements. He kissed my cheek and headed out. Ranger wrapped me in his arms and held me.

Ranger spent the day trying to keep me from thinking about what had happened. I wasn't aware of it but he was also vetting my calls. The next few days were the hardest I'd ever lived through. Daddy had made the arrangements and as much as I wanted to go to mom's funeral, I didn't think it would be right that the very person who took her life was there mourning her death. I did mourn her though. Daddy understood my reasons for not going to the funeral and he had even set a time for just him and me to go to the funeral home.

The worst of all this is I had this awful feeling that the worst wasn't over. My spidey sense was telling me that there was more trouble headed our way. I just hoped when everything was over and done that the people I loved the most were left unhurt.

_I know this chapter is a little shorter than I usually try to write, but the tone was pretty somber. Now how many of you expected that result when the mask came off? I know I didn't expect it. _


	20. Investigating The Past

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 20: Investigating The Past

Stephanie's POV:

The next two weeks were the hardest I had faced so far in my lifetime. Although most of the people I encountered where full of warmth and understanding, there were also the people who were pointing at me and calling me a murderer. One of those people was my very own sister Val. Seems Steven had opted for staying in California and he was claiming that Val abandoned him and the girls. He got a restraining order so she couldn't go near the girls because he was afraid of her psychological well-being, especially with the recent death of her mother and the fact that said mother had been planning to kill her own daughter and mother. I think that bit of news helped grandma Mazur and I deal with mother's death more than anything. Apparently she was coming here that night to kill me and grandma so nothing would get out about her affair with Doug Maxwell. People had forgotten all about that piece of history and she wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

When Val started spouting all sorts of hate towards me, daddy kindly told her to either stop or find a place of her own to stay. Val had taken her belongings and went to stay with Mary Lou, unfortunately for Mary Lou because that was the beginning of the end of her own marriage to Lenny. She had taken the boys to visit her mother but had forgotten the cake she had made and had gone back to pick it up. When she walked into the house 90 minutes after leaving it the first time, it was to find Val and Lenny going at it on the dining room table. Mary Lou smashed the cake in their faces and told Lenny he could expect divorce papers as soon as she got to a lawyer. I felt bad for Mary Lou, but she was going to learn the hard truth that Lenny was nothing more than a womanizing scum bag sooner or later. If she'd listened to me 6 years ago we would still be friends.

Another party that seemed to want to rub my face in the fact I was the one to kill my own mother was Terry Grizzoli. I seemed to run into her everywhere I went and I didn't think it was mere coincidence. The last time was just a couple days ago and I felt cornered when she started going on about how I had shot my own mother. Help came from an unexpected corner though when Joe Morelli walked past us and heard her. He had come over and ripped into her telling her she knew nothing about it and she should get her facts right before saying anything. Terry had pouted and pretended to apologize. When she tried to kiss Joe he turned her away and told he she wasn't the person he thought she was and he wanted nothing more to do with her if that's how she treated his friends.

Something about the look in Terry's eyes told me I hadn't heard the last of her. Surprisingly enough, Joyce Barnhardt had come up to me on the street and offered her condolences. When another onlooker had said that was funny since I'm the one that had killed my mother in the first place, Joyce turned to them and read them the riot act. She told them only an idiot would think I would kill anyone without it being a matter of me or them. She told me my father had been so wonderful to her in the past few months since she'd lost her own parents, and she wanted to repay his kindness in this little way. I thanked her and went on my way. I felt guilty though in thinking she was lying somehow. I just didn't know how. Looking in her face reminded me of someone though I just couldn't place who.

When I walked into Rangeman I felt a sense of relief, like I was finally home. I got into the elevator and rode it to the 5th floor. When I got to my cubicle, Lester was leaning against my desk with his arms crossed. He smiled when he looked at me like he had a secret and couldn't wait to tease me. I narrowed my eyes on him and he just laughed.

I folded my arms and raised an eyebrow, "Okay Santos, talk."

Lester laughed, "I was just listening in on a conversation Bobby and Tank were having. Seems they've been laying low because of what happened, but now things are getting back to normal they are planning a coupe on your grandma and Lula. I think Ranger's name was mentioned in there too."

My eyes narrowed, "Why are you here telling me?"

Lester put his hand over his chest, "Beautiful! You wound me. I just want you to know I have your back. I took the liberty of striking them before they could get you."

"They aren't after me."

Les looked like he hadn't thought of that. He smiled weakly, "Well, they might be now."

I glared at Les and asked, "What did you do?"

Les grinned, "Put super glue on the big guy's keyboard and hid the model car that Bobby had in his office."

I shook my head. I looked over Les's head and shrugged, "What's to stop me from telling the guys you're the one behind it?"

Les laughed, "You can try Beautiful. But I already gave you the credit."

I tried hard not to react as I watched Tank and Bobby back up so Les would have no idea they had heard him confess. I sighed, "I guess I'll just have to start watching my back."

Les stood and laughingly made his way back to his desk. I sat down and got to work on the searches. I took the file out of my purse and laid it on the desk. I once again read over the information. I was nearly to the end of the file when I noticed something. I stood and ran into Ranger's office. When I barreled in he looked up with concern. I handed him the file and pointed to what had caught my attention. Ranger lifted his head and our eyes met.

"Damn Babe! You just hit the jackpot. I'll get the team together."

Ranger went over the take down with the guys and everything was put in motion. It was over in no time. I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask Maxwell so Ranger stopped by Haywood so I would get the chance before they took him in. When the SUV pulled into the garage I opened the back door and I asked my questions. Maxwell smiled at me and at first refused to say anything. I gave him a disgusted look and slammed the door, unintentionally slamming the door on his foot. I was nearly at the elevator when Ranger called me back. Maxwell told me about how he'd come to Trenton as a special favor to Vito Grizzoli. He had four women he needed to target and get pregnant. Vito had given him the money to give them all for abortions. Three of the women went through with it but the married woman left town and actually had the baby. He admitted to being in town to see if the woman knew where the child was.

I frowned and asked why Vito wanted those four women targeted. Maxwell smiled and replied, "Because they were all squeezing him. He'd had affairs with all of them and they were trying to blackmail him into continuing the affairs."

I asked, "All of them?"

Maxwell nodded, "As a matter of fact, the married woman had apparently given birth to Vito's daughter. She was passing it off as her husbands though."

My world reeled once again. I thought about Val and compared her to Terry. They looked more like sisters than Val and I did. "Did Vito know?"

"He knew. That's why it was my job to get her pregnant. He wanted the waters muddied even more. He didn't realize the woman was crazy."

"What do you mean?"

"She contacted me after she had my baby. She said the baby was desperate to meet me. When I went to see her, she had a syringe in her hand and she stuck me with it. She tried to kill me. She said Vito was going to learn she wasn't to be messed with as well."

"Did she ever make good on her threat?"

Maxwell shrugged, "I don't know. I was in a drug induced coma for 5 years because of her. When I finally came out of it all my money was gone and I had nothing. That's part of why I came back here. I wanted revenge of my own. I hear I was too late. Someone already took her out."

I nodded to Ranger to let him know I had what I wanted and I turned to head to the elevator. I couldn't believe what I had heard. I wondered if my dad knew anything about that…or grandma. I decided to call daddy and see what he said before I did anything more. When I broached the subject he asked me to take a ride with him so I agreed. He told me he knew about Val not being his and even though that was the first time he thought about a divorce, mother had threatened to kill Val if he divorced her. He said the truth was he fell out of love with mother almost before the ink was dry because she was never the woman he thought he had married. I asked how he would feel about me looking into the past. He asked if it had any bearing on the person trying to hurt me. When I told him I thought it did, he said to dig as deep as I wanted with his blessing.

As soon as daddy dropped me back at Rangeman I decided I also needed to know how grandma Mazur felt about everything. She agreed with daddy and said if it would help me find the person after me then to dig away. Three nights later while I was lying in bed with Ranger, I asked him how he thought I should get in contact with Vito. Ranger said he could handle getting me in and out, but that it might be less tense if we brought Morelli into the mix. I agreed and so the next day I called Joe and asked him to set up a meeting between me and Vito.

At first Joe was reluctant but once I told him that Ranger would be with me and Joe could be as well, he lost no time in setting it up. When we arrived at the meet site, Joe was standing there waiting for us. Ranger and I joined Morelli and headed into the Club that was known as Vito's throne of power. I was surprised at the armed guards as we made our way through. Joe knocked on a door and we were allowed inside. Vito's cold eyes were focused on us as we drew near and he motioned to the chairs facing him.

Vito turned to me, "I heard you wanted to talk to me."

I refused to let him intimidate me. I sat up straight and met his gaze, "Yes. I have some questions."

"Ask."

"I've heard recently that you had an affair with my mother. That you are in fact Valerie's real father."

"What do you want from me? You want me to tell you it's true?"

I narrowed my eyes, "I think it is true. What I want to know is why you paid Maxwell to have an affair with her and get her pregnant?"

"I had a wife and a family. I didn't want her or the baby but she wouldn't accept that. She wanted me to pay so she could live the life she wanted."

"So you set her up to have an affair and then you could wash your hands of her? What went wrong?"

"She figured it out. She came by here before she left town and told me she'd have the baby adopted if I'd give her enough money to make it worth her while."

"So why would she not want me to find out about this?"

"It was my get out of jail free card. If it ever became common knowledge that she was the one to have an affair with Maxwell and she'd had his baby, then I no longer had to pay her the monthly fee she set up. In exchange she would continue to pass the infant she'd already had as her husband's child."

"You're saying she was willing to kill me so I didn't stop her gravy train?"

"10,000 a month is nothing to sneeze at. Don't ask me what she spent the money on because I don't have a clue."

"Did you ever have a thought about Val?"

"I never wanted that baby! I had my family and she was threatening to ruin it all. I didn't need a new family."

At that moment the door flew open and Terry stepped in with an automatic in her hand. She sneered at me and said, "Welcome to the trap said the spider to the fly."

Joe stepped in front of me and said, "Your uncle agreed to the meeting."

Terry looked to Vito, "Yes. I know. I also know what this will mean to his reputation. But I can't stand back while she gets to walk away."

I turned to Terry, "What have I ever done to you?"

Her face turned red with her anger, "You're the one he wants! He knows it will never work and that you have someone else that you love and can be happy with, but he still wants _you_! I can't keep competing! It's killing me to know it's you he wants when we are together!"

I could see Joe pale at Terry's words and figured there was a grain of truth. "Joe knows we can only be friends. There is nothing between us but friendship."

"For you. But it's your name he cries out at night when he's with me!"

She raised the gun and was getting ready to shoot when a shot rang out and a hole appeared in the center of Terry's forehead. Before anyone could move a matching hole appeared in the middle of Vito's forehead. After that all hell broke loose as Vito's men were all over the place looking for the shooter. Joe called it in and it was hours later before Ranger and I got to go back to Rangeman to talk over recent events with the guys. We had just pulled into the garage and made our way to the 5th floor in the elevator when Hector strode up to Ranger and spoke hurriedly in Spanish. I asked Ranger what was going on and he told me there had been a delivery for me. When I asked what, Hector showed me the dozen black roses and the note that said soon it would be my turn.


	21. Captives

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 21: Captives

Unknown POV:

I couldn't believe it was all Vito Grizzoli's fault! He was the one who started all this! I lifted my chin and determined not to show any emotions. I walked over to my old friend and caressed the rifle. It had seen a lot of use recently. I lifted it and aimed. Squeezing the first shot and hitting Terry dead center in the forehead and then seconds later hitting Vito in the same location. My eyes narrowed as I lowered the rifle. Soon little sister. Soon it would be your turn. First there were a few things I had to take care of. I stripped the riffle down and fit it into the briefcase. I then made my way down to the street and hailed a cab. I smiled as I slipped into the back seat and my daddy turned to smile at me and ask where to. I smiled back and relayed the address where I was headed. I sat back and relaxed. I was safe now. Daddy wouldn't let any harm come to me. Just as we were moving away from the scene, a woman with a camera snapped my photo. My eyes took in everything about her and I smiled. I knew who she was, so I could pay her a visit later and explain about not wanting my picture taken. Before I got done she would get the point.

Stephanie's POV:

The three weeks after Vito and Terry Grizzoli were murdered were filled with a great bit of tension. I received black roses every day. Connie had finally been released from the hospital, and in an effort to find out who might be behind everything, Lula tried talking to Connie and getting the low down. Connie was refusing to talk. She said it would mean her life if she talked and she didn't like me well enough to risk her life. I got a funny feeling when Connie said that and decided to visit the police station to see if I could talk to Jorgio Lubnick. I had an idea that maybe he'd had some help in deciding he wanted to stay in jail. Morelli arranged for me to get into talk to him and several of the guys were there to make sure I was safe. Carl, Big Dog and Eddie were all there as well as Joe and Ranger insisted on going with me as well as Tank.

There would have been more Merry Men but I wanted Jorgio to talk to me. He was brought into the visitor's room and I asked him why he chose to stay in jail when it was obvious his family would bond him out. He looked around and shook his head; "The walls have ears." was all he would say. I leaned into him and whispered, "The thing is, someone is after me. They seem to be targeting anyone that gets in the way between them and me. I'm willing to let it be known that you are now in the way."

Jorgio's eyes widened and I knew I was on the right track. "She'll kill me. She's crazy. Said if I got out of jail again she'd find me and kill me. She said you were her toy and no one else was allowed to play with you."

"Do you know what she looks like?"

Jorgio shook his head. "She was dressed all in black like some kinda ninja. She had a wicked looking rifle with her. Said if I didn't go back to jail she was going to have some fun with it."

I had the feeling he'd told us all he could. I thanked him and made my way out of the building with Tank and Ranger flanking me. I had just exited the building when Val pulled her vehicle to a stop in front of me and started coming at me. She was screaming about how I'd killed her mother and took her father from her and how I had ruined her life because now everyone was saying Vito Grizzoli was her father. She pulled out a gun from her purse and as she went to raise it a shot was fired and Val was hit in the center of her forehead. She dropped to the ground and lay there looking up at us, sightless.

Police were streaming from the building and fanning out but there was no sign of the shooter. Ranger and Tank were covering me as we hurried back into the building. Ranger made a call. I heard him telling someone he wanted answers now. When he joined us he told us there might be a lead. It seems someone got a picture of someone leaving the Grizzoli murders in a cab. Tank and Ranger hurried me out to the SUV and we headed back to Rangeman. We were almost there when Ranger got a call and we switched directions and headed for St. Francis as fast as the vehicle would go. When we got there Ranger forced his way back to the triage area and checked behind the curtains until he found the person he was searching for.

Tank was staying by my side and I was having trouble keeping up. When I heard Ranger say, "Jeanne Ellen?" I thought maybe I should give him some privacy but Tank kept me going till we had joined Ranger and the woman on the gurney. When I entered the area, Ranger took my hand and pulled me to him. I gave him a puzzled look and he leaned his forehead against mine as he told me, "Babe, this is Jeanne Ellen Burrows. I asked her to look into this from another angle. She's been following us around trying to get anything on the person we are after. She had a photo of someone leaving the Grizzoli murders and was on her way to Rangeman with it when she was blindsided. The photo is a casualty."

I nodded that I understood. I tried not to be jealous of the familiar way Ranger and Jeanne Ellen interacted but I don't think I was completely successful. Jeanne Ellen let out a hoarse laugh and told Ranger he should formerly introduce us. That's when I learned that Batman had a sister. Ranger pulled me closer and told me Jeanne Ellen was his sister. When I made reference to that making her Cat Woman she laughed and said I better not tell Ram. When I looked puzzled, Ranger explained that Jeanne Ellen and Ram were engaged. Seconds later Ram was barreling into the room and demanded somebodies head on a platter.

Fortunately Jeanne Ellen had only been grazed with the bullet. Still, she was lucky to be alive since she had in effect seen the person who was behind all this. Ranger arranged for Junior and Hal to guard her door and Ram would stay with her till she could be released. The three of us headed back to Rangeman. Jeanne Ellen had given us her camera and Ranger planned to see if Hector could do any magic to get us the picture that was on the clip that had been taken. I remembered Jeanne Ellen mentioning something about the person getting into a cab and I had a thought. I called my dad and asked him if he could drop by Rangeman. He agreed and said he'd be there in a few minutes.

When Binkie called up to say my father was there I headed downstairs to meet him. Ranger was in a meeting with a team to see what they could recover from the camera. My dad smiled as I entered the lobby and he gave me a big hug. I asked him if he knew which one of the cabs might have picked up a fare near the Club where Vito and Terry were killed. He frowned for a minute and then he admitted that he had picked up a regular there. I asked him who that was and when he told me everything fell into place. We were moving across the lobby to the elevators when the door to the street opened and a shot was fired. Binkie went down but before I could help him and then there was an automatic being aimed in my direction. I wasn't surprised to see the woman in front of me. I was hoping she would just take me but luck wasn't on my side because she insisted daddy come with us.

We held our hands up to let her know we were unarmed and we moved towards the door to the street. I glanced up at the camera and said a quick prayer that the guys on monitors had picked us up and were letting Ranger and the others know right this minute what was going on. We walked slowly out to my dad's cab and she had us get inside. She sat beside me in the back and gave the directions to a remote location not far from the house I had bought. When we arrived we got out of the car and she directed us inside. It looked like she'd put a lot of thought into what she'd need if she ever got me this far. I tried to get her talking but she waved the gun in my face and told me to stop the chit chat.

She had a recliner just like my dad's positioned in front of a TV. It was freaky just how much it looked like the den of my parent's house. There was a dining room table and kitchen area that looked like theirs as well three beds. One looked like my parent's, another was hidden behind a partition and then there was the one she indicated I should move towards. She handcuffed me to the headboard with a chain attached so I could use a hidden stool if I needed the bathroom. I had a feeling she had been planning this for a long time. I sat on the bed and lowered my head. I pretended to be resigned to my fate and stayed as quiet as possible. My dad took the chair that was so much like his own and tried to sit as he normally would as he watched TV. I saw the concerned look he shot me when she wasn't watching and I tried to let him know I was okay. The important thing for now was to play along until we were in a position to act.

Ranger's POV:

We were in the conference room and Hector was trying to get the images from the camera. He was having some success when the alarm went off indicating a shot had been fired in the building. Hank burst in and told us a woman had just entered the lobby and shot Binkie, then took Stephanie and her father and left the building. I demanded the feed be transferred to the conference room and 15 minutes later I knew everything there was to know about the woman. I had an address and we were rolling. The location was close to where Steph's house was. We surrounded the area and I sent Hector in to find out what the situation was.

When Hector came back he told us the dad was sitting in a recliner watching TV and Steph was handcuffed to a bed with a chain that would allow her to move a short distance. We went over a plan and when it was time to move out I gave the order. I made sure everyone knew that Babe was to be protected at all costs. I also wanted her father unhurt if we could manage it. We had all reached our positions and were waiting for the right moment to move together. I was able to see the woman come over to where Stephanie was seated and say something. I couldn't hear what Stephanie was telling her but the woman was getting more agitated. Suddenly the woman lifted the automatic and yelled out, swinging it in Stephanie's direction.

_I know, I know…..but I'm addicted to cliffhangers. I love writing them. However, when I'm the reader I respond just the way you are about to respond. Don't worry though; I will get the next chapter up before the end of the day tomorrow._


	22. Scapegoat

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 22: Scapegoat

Unknown POV:

I had Stephanie handcuffed to the chain attached to the headboard and I had my daddy in his favorite chair. This wasn't exactly how I saw things playing out but she said this would make a bigger impact. When the phone rang I picked it up. "Hello?"

"Do you have them?"

"Yes. They are both here with me."

"Good. You know what you have to do now. The time has come for you to finish everything. He'll never pick you over her. Now it's time for you to end it for both of them."

"No! Not daddy!"

"You have too! He'll never love you now."

I hung up the phone and turned to look at daddy. He looked so good sitting there. Maybe she was wrong. I walked over and sat on the sofa facing daddy. He looked kinda sad as his gaze met mine. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I didn't want to kill him. Things were so much better before she became my friend and started telling me what to do. I pulled out the gun and looked at it for several seconds. I didn't want to hurt him. Stephanie saw the gun in my hand and she called to me. She told me to leave her dad alone, that he'd done nothing to me.

I stood and stalked over to her yelling, "You don't know anything!" I waived the gun in her face and I smiled when she flinched a little.

Stephanie replied, "I know more than you think. I know you're my half-sister. Your father is Doug Maxwell."

I turned to her with rage in my heart, "No! Frank Plum is my father! He would have loved me if mother had taken me home to him."

Stephanie tried to placate me, "Yes. He would have loved you as much as he loved Val. That's the kind of man he is."

"Why didn't she keep me? Why did she throw me away and then have you? She kept you. What was so wrong with me that she couldn't love _me_?"

Stephanie shook her head, "It was her, not you. There was something wrong with her. She never loved me either but by then daddy was out of the army and he'd asked grandma Mazur to come and help watch out for me."

"I always watched out for you in school."

Stephanie nodded, "I know you did. That's why I don't understand what's changed?"

"She's my friend now. She says I'm a better friend than you ever were. I didn't try to steal her husband."

"Mary Lou?"

I turned away in a panic. I wasn't supposed to let her know about Mary Lou. What was I going to do now? Stephanie told me it was Lenny that came onto her. I knew she was telling the truth because I had seen Lenny corner her. I'd gone to Mary Lou because I thought she could help Stephanie. Instead Mary Lou turned on her. Stephanie called my name and I turned to her.

She held out her hands, "Let me go. I can help you."

I shook my head, "No one can help now. I have to end it for all of us."

"That's stupid. You don't have to listen to her."

"I'm not stupid! Don't ever call me that again!" I put the gun right up to her face.

At that point daddy raised his voice and said, "Girls! Stop your fighting this instance. Stephanie, don't call you sister stupid. Joyce, stop waiving that thing in Stephanie's face. Now both of you get along. Where's my dinner? It's almost 6 and I always eat my dinner at 6."

I bowed my head and said, "Sorry daddy. I'll have dinner ready on time."

I turned to Stephanie and she rolled her eyes and threw me a grin before saying, "Sorry sis."

I smiled and set the gun down. I went into the kitchen and got out the dishes I'd prepared for dinner. I was an excellent cook and knew everything that daddy liked. I sat the dishes on the table and called everyone to come eat. Daddy sat in his chair and I sat beside him. Stephanie would be able to just reach the chair at the end of the table. When she sat down though daddy shook his head. "Joyce, take those things off your sister so she can join us. I want my two girls next to me."

I hesitated but did as daddy asked. Stephanie came closer and sat across from me. I saw her look to the window a couple of times but could see nothing there when I turned in that direction. I noticed that she was kinda picking through the pot roast and so I huffed and asked, "What's the matter?"

Steph shrugged, "I know you're a good cook, but what if someone messed with the food? You said Mary Lou wants you to end things with daddy and I, but what if she tampered with the food to get you out of the way too?"

I looked at everything and conceded she had a valid point. "I have some canned things."

"Or maybe we could order something. I could get one of my friends to drop us off some meatball subs."

I narrowed my eyes and gave her a disgusted look, "What do you take me for?"

She shrugged, "I think you are a smart woman. I just thought I'd ask Ranger to bring us some Meatball subs from Pino's."

"Ranger? Is that the guy you've been hanging around with?"

"Yes."

I bit my lip and looked at daddy. He was smiling. "Do you want a Meatball sub daddy?"

"Sure. I think that's a great deal. It would give us a chance to get to know Stephanie's Ranger a lot better."

I nodded, "Alright. Call your Ranger."

Stephanie stood and went over to her purse. She fished out her phone and connected the call. "Hey Ranger, this is Steph. I decided to visit with my dad and my sister this afternoon and we spent such a long time talking we forgot all about food. Can you stop and Pino's and get us all Meatball subs?" She paused and then turned to me, "He wants to know where I am."

I gave her the address and she relayed it to him. I blocked out her conversation and turned to daddy and smiled, "I always dreamed of this."

Daddy reached out for my hand and I placed my hand in his. He smiled and said, "I wish I could have been there for you from the beginning Joyce."

I threw myself in his arms and let all the tears of the past stream down my face as I felt his arms around me. How long I was there in his arms I don't know but all too soon there was the knock on the door that announced the arrival of someone. Stephanie stood and went to answer the door. She smiled at the man in the doorway and stepped back so he could enter. He had a bag from Pino's and kissed Steph's lips before asking who was hungry. He brought the sack over to the table and set it down. Steph and I passed out the subs and we all sat down to eat.

We were almost done eating when Stephanie bit her look and asked me, "Joyce, were you the one that threatened Jorgio and ran down Connie?"

I gave her a puzzled look, "I don't know anything about that. I wasn't happy about them getting in the way of my plans and I mentioned it to Mary Lou. Then suddenly they were no longer an issue."

"Did you blow up all those cars, buildings and stuff?"

I shook my head no. "I could never do that. What if daddy borrowed one of your cars? Mary Lou did all that."

"Did you kill Terry, Vito and Val?"

I shook my head. "I went to make sure no one hurt you, I even fired a shot but it went into the wall."

Stephanie looked right at me, "I think Mary Lou is setting you up as the fall guy. In case everything comes out in the open she can claim you're the one that did the killing."

I looked at daddy, "I didn't kill anyone. Although I would have liked to kill mother when she aimed her gun at Stephanie. All these years I've tried to watch out for her. I am the big sister after all."

Daddy patted my hand, "And I appreciate all you've done Sweetie."

My face lit up. Finally I had a nickname that only my daddy would call me. Ranger spoke up, "I think we need to do some digging to see if there is anyone else besides Mary Lou in on this. Would you agree to go to a hospital near here and see a doctor friend of mine? He can help you deal with all that's happened as well as help you go on from here."

I glared at him, "You think I'm crazy!"

Daddy put his hand on mine, "No Sweetie. You're not crazy. But someone is trying to use you to their ends. We need you to be safe. If it would make you feel better I would be willing to go and stay close by. I'll visit every day."

I looked at him and then turned to Stephanie. She smiled at me and said, "You're part of the family. No getting out of it now."

I grinned and said I'd go. We finished eating and cleaned up. Then we headed out to the Porsche Cayenne and Ranger drove us three hours away to the hospital. True to his word daddy stayed with me. Ranger and Stephanie said their goodbyes and headed back to Trenton. I told them everything I knew to try and help them. I hoped they could get the goods on Mary Lou. I just didn't know how they were going to do that. Before Stephanie left I mentioned about my job working for Dickie Orr and that we were getting closer. I asked her if she could let him know where I was. Stephanie looked at me funny and then she asked me not to contact Dickie. She said she had a feeling he would try to hurt me. I remembered all the times through the years when she'd had her feelings and knew she was always right. I decided right then Dickie was history. I wasn't letting anyone come between me and my family again.

_Alright all of you that said Joyce was the half-sister…you were right. So now the spot light is on Mary Lou. How many of you expected that? Is she really the one behind this? Or is there someone pushing her buttons as well? _


	23. The Next Step

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 23: The Next Step

Stephanie's POV:

I was surprised when the phone rang and Joyce answered it. I don't know who she was talking to but it was obvious they were the driving force behind all this. I heard her say yes and they were both with her. I had the idea she was talking about daddy and me. When Joyce said, "No! Not daddy!" I looked to my father and our eyes met. Somehow Joyce had taken it into her head that my dad was also hers. I knew we had to walk a fine line in order to come out of this. I just hoped daddy was up to playing along. I saw Joyce sit beside my dad and decided to test the waters so to speak.

She had the gun in her hand and I said, "Joyce. Leave my dad alone. He's done nothing to you."

Joyce stood and stalked over to me yelling, "You don't know anything!"

She waived the gun in my face and I flinched a little. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ranger outside the window. I hoped he could give me the time to find out if Joyce was acting alone or if there were others in this as well. I was hoping Ranger would be listening as I told Joyce, "I know more than you think. I know you're my half-sister. Your father is Doug Maxwell."

She turned to me in a rage and screamed, "No! Frank Plum is my father! He would have loved me if mother had taken me home to him."

I tried to placate her, "Yes. He would have loved you as much as he loved Val. That's the kind of man he is."

"Why didn't she keep me? Why did she throw me away and then have you? She kept you. What was so wrong with me that she couldn't love _me_?"

I realized my mother had a lot to answer for as I shook my head, "It was her, not you. There was something wrong with her. She never loved me either but by then daddy was out of the army and he'd asked grandma Mazur to come and help watch out for me."

"I always watched out for you in school."

I nodded. Although I had always thought it a little creepy at the time that she seemed to always be watching me, "I know you did. That's why I don't understand what's changed?"

"She's my friend now. She says I'm a better friend than you ever were. I didn't try to steal her husband."

"Mary Lou?"

I could see Joyce was starting to panic and I didn't want her to dwell too much on what Mary Lou might want her to do. I called her name and she turned to me. I held out my hands in a plea, "Let me go. I can help you."

Joyce shook her head, "No one can help now. I have to end it for all of us."

"That's stupid. You don't have to listen to her."

"I'm not stupid! Don't ever call me that again!"

Joyce put the gun right up to my face. I saw Ranger outside the window and I knew he wanted to come in and get me out of harm's way. I was hoping he could hang on a while longer till I got Joyce to tell me everything. I think daddy caught onto what I was trying to do because he raised his voice like he'd often done when Val and I were arguing when we were kids.

"Girls! Stop your fighting this instance. Stephanie, don't call you sister stupid. Joyce, stop waiving that thing in Stephanie's face. Now both of you get along. Where's my dinner? It's almost 6 and I always eat my dinner at 6."

Joyce bowed her head and said, "Sorry daddy. I'll have dinner ready on time."

She turned to me and I rolled my eyes and threw her a grin before saying, "Sorry sis."

I was trying to gain her trust and make her think I was on her side. I think dad had the right idea in treating us both as daughters. Joyce was starting to identify with me. Joyce got the meal on the table and she and daddy sat down. I could just make it to the end chair. Daddy shook his head and told Joyce he wanted both his girls by him. Although she hesitated she did as he asked. I glanced again at the window and Ranger held up a Pino's bag. I picked through the food and when Joyce noticed she asked what was wrong with it.

I shrugged, "I know you're a good cook, but what if someone messed with the food? You said Mary Lou wants you to end things with daddy and I, but what if she tampered with the food to get you out of the way too?"

Joyce looked at everything and conceded I had a valid point. "I have some canned things."

"Or maybe we could order something. I could get one of my friends to drop us off some meatball subs."

Joyce narrowed her eyes and gave me a disgusted look, "What do you take me for?"

I shrugged, "I think you are a smart woman. I just thought I'd ask Ranger to bring us some Meatball subs from Pino's."

"Ranger? Is that the guy you've been hanging around with?"

"Yes."

Joyce bit her lip and looked at daddy. He was smiling. "Do you want a Meatball sub daddy?"

"Sure. I think that's a great deal. It would give us a chance to get to know Stephanie's Ranger a lot better."

Joyce nodded, "Alright. Call your Ranger."

My hands and legs were shaky as I made my way over to my purse. I fished out my phone and connected the call. I told Ranger that I decided to visit with my sister and dad this afternoon and we'd forgotten about food. I was giving Ranger the clues as to who was inside with us. I asked him if he could bring us Pino subs and then I told Joyce he needed to know where I was. She rattled off the address and I repeated it. I saw her talking to daddy as I finished my conversation with Ranger. I let him know that I thought we could do this without anyone getting hurt. When the knock sounded on the door I stood and went to answer it. I smiled at Ranger, relieved that he was here with me. I stepped back so he could come in. Ranger bent down and kissed me and then held up the Pino's bag and asked who was hungry. We sat down and Joyce and I passed out the subs.

We were almost done eating when I bit my lip and asked, "Joyce, were you the one that threatened Jorgio and ran down Connie?"

Joyce gave me a puzzled look, "I don't know anything about that. I wasn't happy about them getting in the way of my plans and I mentioned it to Mary Lou. Then suddenly they were no longer an issue."

"Did you blow up all those cars, buildings and stuff?"

Joyce shook her head no. "I could never do that. What if daddy borrowed one of your cars? Mary Lou did all that."

"Did you kill Terry, Vito and Val?"

Again she shook her head. "I went to make sure no one hurt you, I even fired a shot but it went into the wall."

I looked right at her, "I think Mary Lou is setting you up as the fall guy. In case everything comes out in the open she can claim you're the one that did the killing."

Joyce looked at daddy, "I didn't kill anyone. Although I would have liked to kill mother when she aimed her gun at Stephanie. All these years I've tried to watch out for her. I am the big sister after all."

Daddy patted her hand, "And I appreciate all you've done Sweetie."

Joyce's face lit up. Ranger spoke up, "I think we need to do some digging to see if there is anyone else besides Mary Lou in on this. Would you agree to go to a hospital near here and see a doctor friend of mine? He can help you deal with all that's happened as well as help you go on from here."

Joyce glared at him, "You think I'm crazy!"

Daddy put his hand on Joyce's, "No Sweetie. You're not crazy. But someone is trying to use you to their ends. We need you to be safe. If it would make you feel better I would be willing to go and stay close by. I'll visit every day."

She looked at him and then turned to me. I smiled at her and said, "You're part of the family. No getting out of it now."

Joyce grinned and agreed to go. We cleared everything up and headed out to the Cayenne. The hospital Ranger had mentioned was three hours away. We wanted to take no chance that Mary Lou would stumble on her. Daddy went with and would be staying at a nearby hotel. Once we made sure Joyce was admitted and daddy was settled, we headed back to Trenton. Joyce had told us everything she knew, and she mentioned that she had started working for Dickie Orr. Joyce said they were getting close and she thought he might ask her to marry him. After meeting him the one time I seriously doubted that. I asked her not to make contact with him because I had a feeling he would hurt her. Joyce agreed not to contact him.

I fell asleep on the way back to Trenton. When Ranger parked in the garage he woke me. I was still half asleep though as we made our way to the apartment on 7. Ranger made sure I was all tucked in and then he went to go. I asked where he was going and he told me he was going to work on a plan with the team. I asked if I should be there and he told me he would tell me all about it in the morning. For now I should just sleep. My last thought before sleep claimed me was that I was glad his interior decorator had been able to restore his apartment.

Frank Plum's POV:

When Joyce came in and shot Binkie before taking me and Stephanie, I couldn't believe it. Joyce had been a regular customer for over 8 years. Once we arrived at our destination I couldn't believe how much like my home it looked. I had an idea Joyce had fixated on me for some reason. Then when Stephanie told Joyce she was Doug Maxwell's child and Joyce had screamed she was my child….well, I knew we needed to be careful on so many levels.

Stephanie got her talking and at one point the two of them were arguing so hard I thought Joyce might use that gun on my little Pumpkin, so I decided to try and help the situation. I raised my voice and said, "Girls! Stop your fighting this instance. Stephanie, don't call you sister stupid. Joyce, stop waiving that thing in Stephanie's face. Now both of you get along. Where's my dinner? It's almost 6 and I always eat my dinner at 6."

It worked. Joyce got the meal on the table and we all sat down. I noticed Stephanie could barely reach the end chair and so I told Joyce I wanted Stephanie to sit by me too. I was relieved when she released Stephanie. I noticed the looks Steph was giving to the window and I thought I caught a glimpse of a man. Stephanie picked at her food and when Joyce wanted to know what was wrong; Steph asked what if someone had messed with the food? There was some conversation about Pino's subs and Joyce finally agreed for Stephanie to call Ranger. When Stephanie went over to make the call, she asked Joyce the address. Joyce told her and then she turned to me.

She smiled, "I always dreamed of this."

I reached out for her hand and placed her hand in mine. I smiled and said, "I wish I could have been there for you from the beginning Joyce."

She threw herself in my arms and tears streamed down her face. I wrapped my arms around this fragile young woman that my wife had nearly destroyed with her callous actions. I held her till the knock on the door announced the arrival of someone. Steph went to answer the door and I was never so relieved to see anyone as I was to see her young man. When Ranger mentioned the hospital to Joyce, I knew it was the right decision. I asked her if it would make a difference if I were to stay close by. Joyce decided to go to the hospital and she did what she could in telling Stephanie everything that might help them.

Ranger's POV:

I wanted to go in the minute I saw the gun in Stephanie's face. Tank was the voice of reason and said it sounded like Stephanie was getting information. We needed to let her help us if she could. Although the next 30 minutes were the hardest of my life because the woman I loved was at the mercy of a madwoman, I let Steph have time. Hector got us all wired so we could hear what was being said and I got an idea. I had Vince make a run to Pino's for subs and when he got back I raised the bag to window height hoping Steph would get the message. I couldn't help smiling when she pointed out the food might have been tampered with and suggested Pino's. When Joyce agreed, I waited the appropriate time of 15 minutes which is the time it would have taken me to get from Rangeman to pick up Pino's and then get here. I took the bag and rapped on the door. When Stephanie opened the door, I couldn't help kissing her to assure myself she was okay.

When Stephanie questioned her, it didn't surprise me that there was someone else calling the shots. I thought Joyce might really loose it when I suggested the hospital but with Steph's dad saying he could stay close by, she agreed in the end. I drove her to the hospital and talked to my old friend, letting him know she might be a danger to herself and others right now. He assured me they would handle her with care. Next we got Frank settled in a hotel room and then I drove us back to Rangeman. Stephanie was obviously in no shape to sit through a meeting about what we needed to do. I figured I would see her settled on 7 and then join the team to talk about our plans. When I covered her up she asked where I was going. I told her I was having a planning session with the team. She asked if she needed to come but I told her no, to sleep and I would tell her all about it in the morning.

I stood for a moment once she had gone to sleep. I clenched my fist and kept a tight rein on the anger I was feeling. Mary Lou better hope she stayed out of my reach because if I got a hold of her, I wasn't sure how long she would continue breathing. She set out to hurt my Babe and no one was going to hurt what was mine. If there was someone else helping her we would find them. I'd make sure they both paid and I didn't care_ how_ I made it happen.

_Okay, since this was pretty much a recap of the last chapter only from different viewpoints, I decided to go ahead and post it tonight. For all those of you who are wondering, yes. I will let you know where the money is. Just think, $10,000 a month for 31 years would make a tidy sum of around $3,720,000. And that's not including interest or if it were put into stocks. Any guesses as to where it is?_


	24. Calling For Help

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 24: Calling For Help

Stephanie's POV:

I spent the next two weeks in the Rangeman building. During the day I was busy doing searches as well as looking into Mary Lou's life over the last few years as well as Dickie Orr's. If Joyce did end up getting involved with him I wanted to make sure it didn't come back and bite us in the ass. What I learned is that Dickie was having an affair with a married woman. That is up until Joyce started working for him. He also had a mysterious client no one had seen. The woman had gone to him 5 years ago when he first started his business. Apparently the woman had a significant interest in several businesses around Trenton as well as a tidy nest egg in stocks. No one knew who the client was…not even Dickie, although rumor was running rampant.

I was going stir crazy being stuck inside the building for so long. Of course, Ranger was a master tactician and he always seemed to know when I was ready to break out. He always showed up before I could get myself in trouble. Last time I had made it to the garage and _Hal burst out of the stairwell door. "Excuse me," he said, "Ranger would prefer that you stay in the building."_

"_It's okay," I told him. _"I'm just going for a breath of fresh air. I'll be right outside the garage."

"_I'm afraid I can't let you do that."_

_So, Ranger hadn't been yanking my chain. He'd actually given orders to keep me here. "Men!" I said. "You're all a bunch of chauvinist morons."_

_He didn't say anything to that._

"_Get out of my way," I said to him._

"_I can't let you leave the building," he said._

"_And how are you going to stop me?"_

_He shifted from foot to foot. He had a stun gun in his hand._

"_Well?" I asked._

"_I'm supposed to stun you, if I have to."_

"_Okay, let me get this straight. You're going to stun-gun the woman who's been living with Ranger?"_

_Hal's face was red, leaning towards purple. "Don't give me a hard time," he said. "I like this job, and I'll lose it if I screw up with you."_

"_You touch me with that stun gun and I'll have you arrested for assault. You won't have to worry about this job."_

"_Jeez," Hal said._

"_Wait a minute," I said. "Let me see the stun gun for a second."_

_He held the gun out to me. I took it, pressed it to his arm, and he went down like a ton of bricks. I leaned over him to make sure he was breathing, gave him his gun back (pg. 303-304 TBO)_ and I turned to make my way over to the Turbo. I stopped in my tracks when I saw Ranger standing there with his arms folded across his chest. I couldn't tell if he was mad or trying not to laugh as he was wearing his blank face. Bobby came flying out of the stairwell and made his way over to Hal.

I sighed and made my way over to where Ranger stood. My head was even with his chest and I looked up with just my eyes to see how he was taking all this. His eyes narrowed and he said, "Babe, you have to stop breaking my men."

I shrugged and in an outraged voice complained, "You told them to stun me!"

Ranger wrapped me in his arms and kissed me. "I want you safe Babe."

Today I was even antsier than I had been the day I'd stunned Hal. Poor guy. The others were still giving him a hard time. I finished up the search I was doing and stood up. I looked around the room and then slowly reached for my purse. When an alarm sounded I jumped a foot and was surrounded by Merry Men when I stood back up and looked around. My eyes widened and I asked, "What?"

Binkie, who had his arm in a sling from when Joyce shot him, stopped in front of me and said, "Now Steph. We know you just want some fresh air, but we can't let you go outside. What if someone saw you and Mary Lou found out you were still around? She might go looking for your dad or grandma."

Suddenly I had a thought. The sick feeling in my stomach was very strong. I turned back to my computer and sat down. My fingers flew over the keys as I typed in what I was searching for. When the screen popped up I stood up and turned to Binkie. I jumped up, then had to climb on my chair and then I grabbed Binkie's face and kissed him on the cheek.

A voice from behind me asked, "Do I need to be worried Babe?"

I almost fell off my chair. Fortunately for me Binkie wrapped his good arm around me and set me down on the floor. I made my way to Ranger and said, "Binkie said something and I had a sudden thought. I found the money Batman!"

Ranger gave me the almost smile. "Proud of you Babe."

The guys moved back to their cubicles and Ranger followed me the short distance to my desk. Although he didn't react to the information on the screen, I knew I had found something good. Ranger stepped forward and sent the information to the printer. He gathered up the papers and grabbed my hand on his way to the conference room. As we moved through the 5th floor Ranger motioned to several of the guys and I noticed that they stood and followed us. Ranger sat me beside him at the table.

I gave Ranger a knowing look and told him, "You're only including me so I don't try and take a walk while you're busy."

Ranger kissed my cheek and replied, "I have to have the guy's backs Babe."

I punched him lightly on the arm. I wasn't stupid, punching him harder would have only hurt my hand and not even fazed Ranger. Ranger put his hand behind my neck and pulled me close. His lips covered my mouth and I was lost in sensual pleasure for the next several minutes as Ranger thoroughly kissed me. Although not a sound escaped, I started feeling eyes on us and knew the guys were all sitting around watching. I pulled back slightly and Ranger tapped my nose and sat me back in the chair beside his.

Ranger brought the guys up to speed on what I'd found. He passed the information he'd copied around so they would be able to read it. Jeanne Ellen whistled and said I'd managed to find a gold mine. This plus the information I had dug up on Mary Lou would help in the next phase of the plan. Jeanne Ellen was going to go into Dickie's office tomorrow and fish for information. As they were formalizing their plans I had to speak up.

"If it was Mary Lou that shot Jeanne Ellen, then she knows what she looks like and that she's working for you. If Dickie is in this with her she'll be a sitting Duck."

Ranger turned to me and asked, "What makes you think Dickie is involved with Mary Lou?"

"My spidey sense. I think she's the married woman he was having an affair with. I also think the mystery client has something to do with this but I just don't know what yet."

Ranger looked over the information once again and shook his head. "I don't know how you did it Babe but you could be right. Okay. Jeanne Ellen wouldn't be a safe choice, so who do we send in?"

I had a sudden idea and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I searched through my contacts for the number I needed and then connected the call. After three rings it was answered on the other end, "It's your dime, start talking."

"Sally, this is Stephanie. I need a favor."

"I'm your man girl. Where do you need me?"

"You ever hear of a lawyer by the name of Dickie Orr?"

"Sure. I heard of the pasty white dude. Not somebody you want to get mixed up with."

"I hear ya. Actually that's why I need the favor. See Dickie made a heavy pass at me when I went to apply for a job. I blew him off and I figure I have nothing to worry about from him, but a friend of mine recently went in for a job and he pulled the same shit with her. Only thing is she was vulnerable and thought he wanted something more."

"Aw shit Steph! Don't tell me the ass screwed her over."

"I wish he hadn't. She's in a really bad spot. Only thing is, Dickie has something he's using to keep her quiet. I need to help her get it back so she can give that sack of shit what he deserves."

"I'm your man. You just tell me what I need to know and I'll go get what you need."

"Thanks Sally. Let me work out the dialogue that will help us determine where the information is. Oh….by the way, there might be some danger involved here."

"Girl, do you not know I drive a school bus on Comstock? It don't get any more fucking dangerous than that."

"Okay Sally. I'll get back with you in a bit."

"I'll be waiting."

I disconnected the call and turned to Ranger. I was a bit confused at the pissed off look on his face till I remembered exactly what I had told Sally. I gave him a weak smile and sent a finger wave. I could see Les covering his mouth so the grin he was trying to hide wouldn't show. Ranger sent me a look that let me know that we would discuss this at a later point. I squared my shoulders and asked, "Any idea what we should have Sally ask Dickie?"

Ranger narrowed his eyes on me, "Who's Sally?"

I smiled, "Sally is a 6'9" cross dresser. He's got the hairiest body in the world and it's really awful in women's clothing, but he is also the best friend anyone could have. He'd do anything for his friends. He'll talk to Dickie and ask him the questions we need answered."

Jeanne Ellen smiled, "There's our answer. Just have him ask the same questions I was going to."

Ram shook his head, "I doubt he'd get the same answer as you would sweetheart."

Jeanne Ellen grinned, "Most guys couldn't get the answers I could get, but if we feed him the dialogue we can get what we need."

I agreed with her. Jeanne Ellen and I worked on the list of questions for Sally to ask and the rest of the group which consisted of Ranger, Tank, Bobby, Lester, Ram, Vince, Woody, Hector, and Cal went over how to alter the plan to safeguard Sally. When we had everything covered, I called Sally back and told him I was sending over a couple of friends that would key him in on the points we needed to learn. He said he'd be waiting. Ram and Jeanne Ellen headed out so they would have plenty of time to work with him.


	25. Murder Is In The Air

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 25: Murder Is In The Air

Jeanne Ellen's POV:

It was decided that Ram and I would go to Sally Sweet's home since if he were to come to the Rangeman building it might put him in jeopardy. I had the list of questions we needed answered and Ram had the wires and other stuff we needed to get on Sweet. We parked a couple blocks away and made our way to Sweet's home. I rang the bell and when the door opened Ram and I both stood there in shock. I'd trained with Ranger for years and his motto was to always be aware of your surroundings. Someone could sneak up behind me right now and blow me away and I'd never know they were there. Instead my gaze was trained on the hairiest, ugliest woman I had ever seen. I had a suspicion the person before us was none other than Sally Sweet. Stephanie had said he was hairy, 6'9" tall and a cross-dresser. That would cover the person before us.

Hairy creature smiled, showing off a set of teeth with diamonds set into them. It stepped back and said, "Well ain't this a fucking party. Come on in. You all are Stephanie's friends aren't you?"

I nodded, "Yeah. We're friends of Stephanie's."

"Well get your fucking asses in here so we can get this shit on the road."

I turned and looked at Ram and noticed he was biting his cheek to keep from bursting into laughter. We followed Sweet into the front room and he motioned us to have a seat. I was all ready to sit on the sofa and the sofa moved…or rather the section I was going to sit on did. Only years of training stopped me from screaming like one of those girls in a B horror movie. I lifted the towel and gave a strangled scream. I felt Ram's chest shaking in laughter behind me and sent my elbow into his 6 pack abs. A grunt was my reward that I had hit my target.

Sweet descended and said, "That's where you got to you little mother fucker. I thought I had you all trussed up. How the fuck did you get out?"

Sweet lifted the huge Tarantula and carefully carried it over and placed it in it's aquarium. After making sure he locked the lid he came back and sat down, motioning me to sit. I sat gingerly on the sofa and Ram sat down beside me. I handed the list of questions to him and asked, "Do you think you would be able to get Dickie to answer these questions?"

Sweet took it and stuffed the list unread into his bra before responding, "Fuck yeah! Before I get done that pasty white motherfucker is going to be beggin' to spill his guts."

I felt Ram's body shaking behind me and I just knew he was laughing. Ranger was going to have our heads for leaving this in Sweet's hands but I really didn't see where we had a choice. I tried to do damage control but this felt like an out of control freight train run amok. We had no control over Sweet. Ram told Sweet he needed to wire him and the two of them went into the bedroom to protect my sensibilities. When the men rejoined me, Sweet was moving gingerly.

I frowned and had to ask, "Are you alright?"

"Fuck no! No one said anything about wiring my balls!"

I glared at Ram and he shrugged, "It was the only non-hairy part of his whole body."

Sweet glared, "I told you. My ex-girlfriend got mad and gave me the ball wax before she walked out the door. Good riddance I say. How was I to know she'd get upset because I felt like sleeping instead of giving her some nookie."

I bent my head and closed my eyes. This was not happening. Ranger was never going to believe this guy. When it was time for Sweet to make his way to Orr's office, Ram and I went back to the SUV and followed him. Ram drove which meant I got the dubious honor of listening to the wire. When Sweet got in the car he looked down to his crotch and said, "Just so as you know, this car kinda has a effect on me." Apparently he took our silence for acknowledgement because he took off.

We hadn't gone very far when I shot Ram a look and said, "You are a dead man!"

Ram's expression remained blank but I saw his shoulders shaking. I went back to trying not to listen to Sweet getting off as he drove the car to Orr's office. I was eternally grateful when Sweet parked and walked gingerly into the building. We sat in the SUV and we were both listening. I had a pad and paper in case we got any answers to our questions. Ram patched the wire back to Rangeman as well so that Stephanie could listen in as well.

Sally Sweet's POV:

I made my way up to the pasty mother fucker's office. It was a little harder to walk because of the giant hard on I was sporting. I don't know why driving my Porsche did that to me but it happened every time. I had to be extra careful so the wire didn't pull any of the hairs either, cause where that mother fucker was it was gonna hurt if that hair got pulled. I made it to the Dick's office and announced myself. The secretary called back and once she'd put the phone down she told me to go on back.

I walked into the office and pasty dude motioned me to have a seat and asked what he could help me with. I smiled real friendly and said, "I need some advice on a hypothetical situation."

He smiled and folded his hands on his desk. "Perhaps if you were to explain the situation…"

I nodded, "I fucking know you been shagging Mary Lou."

His face turned white and he said, "But how could you know that? We've been extremely careful!"

I smiled, "Who do you think owns the place you been fucking at?"

"What do you want?"

"I want the money! Or at least a fucking portion of it."

"Who else have you told?"

"I left a fucking letter with my fucking lawyer telling him what the fuck to do if anything happened to me. He won't fucking care what you fucking say, he'll follow through on my fucking instructions."

"I have a partner I have to check with."

At that moment the door opened and Mary Lou walked into the room. She had a gun in her hand and she was aiming it at Orr. "You worthless piece of crap! I knew I would have to keep an eye on you." She turned to me, "Who are you working with?"

"Fucking A I'm working with someone. They got the proof too."

"Mary Lou, put the gun down. There's been enough killing."

"I won't be happy till I see for myself that Stephanie Plum is no longer alive."

I took the opportunity to ask, "Why you want Stephanie dead?"

"Because she's always been the one everyone wants. Lenny wanted her, this jackass wanted her, the man I've loved for years loves her. Well she won't be around for them to love. I'll finally win."

"That's fucking twisted. No matter what you do to her, you won't change how they feel about her."

"Yeah? Well I don't care. Because once I make sure the bitch is dead I'm going to take all her mother's lovely money and disappear. No one will be the wiser. I'll take over the identity of Madam X and Mary Lou will cease to exist."

Dickie glared at her, "I told you, I don't know who Madam X is."

Mary Lou smiled and said, "It's none other than Helen Plum. She's the mysterious client you've had for the past 5 years. It's her money you've been drooling about. Well she's dead and I plan to use all that money to live on the rest of my life."

"But it will take days to cash all that money out. Someone's bound to catch on if I do it too fast."

Mary Lou lifted a gun and pointed it at the Dick. "I plan to be Madam X. I can cash the stocks out over time."

I shook my head, "How the fuck you plan to do that?"

The gun fired and Dickie Orr was staring sightlessly upward. The gun turned to me and the fucking bitch told me to get up and start walking. I raised my fucking hands in the air and started walking. Mary Lou pushed the gun in my back and told me to walk faster. Every step I took was pullin at the hairs near the wire. I was walking but I was saying, "Fuck….ow….fuck….ow….fuck, fuck, fuck…ow…..fuckin ow….ow…fuck this shit!" I turned around and pulled back my fist to let fly and no one was there. Well Fuck! Now where did she go. I gingerly walked outside and got into my car. I drove back to my place and Cat Woman and the man in black were there behind me. I got in their SUV and they took me to Rangeman.

_Apparently Dickie was no longer needed. Now you know where Helen's money was. So will Mary Lou take the money and split or will her need to see Stephanie dead be her undoing? Sorry for the language in this one, but Sally Sweet is known for his cursing. _


	26. Listening In

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

_**Thanks to Vanessa Loor for translating my English into Spanish. Any mistakes are totally my fault.**__ Also, I forgot to mention the dish Lula used in her revenge on Tank was taken from Finger Lickin Fifteen; the one where Joyce spits on it and then takes it from Stephanie. Joyce takes the dish over to Morelli's and shares it with him, Mooch and Anthony. Poor Bob gets a taste as well._

Chapter 26: Listening In

Stephanie's POV:

Ram and Jeanne Ellen were taking Sally to Dickie's office and Hector set it up so we could all listen in to the conversation. I had complete confidence in Sally delivering the goods. I'm not sure what was more fun, listening to Sally or watching the guy's reactions as they listened. I heard Sally get into his car so Ram must have set it up so we could hear as soon as he got in the SUV. When I heard Sally say, "Just so as you know, this car kinda has a effect on me." I pictured him talking to his crotch because that's the kind of guy Sally was. I noticed Vince, Woody and Cal were trying their best to hide grins as the sounds of Sally getting off as he drove the car to Dickie's office could clearly be heard.

Next thing I heard was a high pitched sound and Hector grimaced before saying something in Spanish as he adjusted the equipment before him, "Le dijo que lo iba a programar para que pudieramos escuchar desde un principio. Acaso no estaba pegando atencion?" (_I told him I would set it up so we could listen in from the beginning. Doesn't he pay attention?_)

I had the feeling he wasn't thrilled with Ram for some reason. We listened as Sally made his way to Dickie's office. It seemed to be taking him an inordinately long time to get there. Finally he introduced himself to the secretary and she called back and to let Dickie know his appointment was there. The secretary put down the phone and told Sally to go on back. I could picture Sally walking to Dickie's office and sitting down. To say Sally was over the top outrageous was putting it mildly. He had a flair only matched by Lula's. I had an advantage over the guys because I knew Sally and I could picture him as the conversation got going. The guys had only what they were hearing to go by and what I had told them as we listened to the conversation play out.

Sally said, "I need some advice on a hypothetical situation."

Dickie paused for a moment before saying, "Perhaps if you were to explain the situation…"

Sally replied, "I fucking know you been shagging Mary Lou."

I could imagine the panic in Dickie's face as he replied, "But how could you know that? We've been extremely careful!"

Sally came back with, "Who do you think owns the place you been fucking at?"

I could almost see the sweat on Dickie's face as he replied, "What do you want?"

I heard the little excited sound Sally made before he replied, "I want the money! Or at least a fucking portion of it." I clenched my hand willing Sally not to overplay his hand. I was getting a bad feeling.

Dickie demanded, "Who else have you told?"

I heard the snort Sally let out before he said, "I left a fucking letter with my fucking lawyer telling him what the fuck to do if anything happened to me. He won't fucking care what you fucking say, he'll follow through on my fucking instructions."

I pictured Dickie sweating profusely as he answered, "I have a partner I have to check with."

The feeling in the pit of my stomach got worse and I turned to Ranger. He took my hand and asked, "What is it Babe?"

I shook my head, "Something bad is going to happen."

Ranger took out his phone and called Ram telling him to be on the alert. I leaned forward trying to see through the box we were listening in on. At that moment a door opened and someone walked into the room. I heard Mary Lou's voice saying, "You worthless piece of crap! I knew I would have to keep an eye on you."

I had a feeling she turned to Sally and asked, "Who are you working with?"

I pictured Sally puffing up his chest as if he weren't afraid of anything. I'd seen him bluff before and he always came across as one tough SOB. I heard Sally say, "Fucking A I'm working with someone. They got the proof too."

Dickie sounded nervous as he pleaded, "Mary Lou, put the gun down. There's been enough killing."

I could imagine the bitter look on Mary Lou's face as she responded, "I won't be happy till I see for myself that Stephanie Plum is no longer alive."

I heard Sally ask, "Why you want Stephanie dead?"

Mary Lou responded, "Because she's always been the one everyone wants. Lenny wanted her, this jackass wanted her, the man I've loved for years loves her. Well she won't be around for them to love. I'll finally win."

I pictured the disgusted look on Sally's face as he said, "That's fucking twisted. No matter what you do to her, you won't change how they feel about her."

I could almost picture Mary Lou hardening her gaze as she replied, "Yeah? Well I don't care. Because once I make sure the bitch is dead I'm going to take all her mother's lovely money and disappear. No one will be the wiser. I'll take over the identity of Madam X and Mary Lou will cease to exist."

I pictured Dickie glaring at her as he said, "I told you, I don't know who Madam X is."

There was a smile in Mary Lou's voice as she said, "It's none other than Helen Plum. She's the mysterious client you've had for the past 5 years. It's her money you've been drooling about. Well she's dead and I plan to use all that money to live on the rest of my life."

Dickie spoke up, "But it will take days to cash all that money out. Someone's bound to catch on if I do it too fast."

I heard Mary Lou say, "I plan to be Madam X. I can cash the stocks out over time."

I heard Sally ask, "How the fuck you plan to do that?"

The gun fired and then I heard Mary Lou tell Sally to start walking. A few seconds later Mary Lou told Sally to walk faster. Then Sally was saying, "Fuck….ow….fuck….ow….fuck, fuck, fuck…ow…..fuckin ow….ow…fuck this shit!"

My hands were clenched and I was holding my breath as I waited to see if my friend would get out of this unharmed. I let out the breath I was holding as I heard Sally get in the SUV with Ram and Jeanne Ellen. As I waited for them to make their way back here I got to thinking there was only one thing that would make Mary Lou stop. I had a plan for that, but first I had to beat her to the money.

I turned to Hector and spoke softly so as not to be overheard, "Can you get the money out of those accounts before she gets to it?"

Hector looked at me with a huge grin and replied, "Si."

I smiled. Alright Mary Lou. Check.

When Ram and Jeanne Ellen walked into the conference room with Sally it was all I could do not to laugh out loud at the reaction of the guys. My eyes widened as I took in the red halter dress Sally was wearing with the platform red 6" FMP's. Sally had on his Dolly Parton wig and the black hair on his back, legs and arms made a pretty scary picture. Sally smiled at the room and showed off the diamonds embedded in his teeth. I had to give Ranger, Tank and Hector credit as they were the only ones who didn't react to Sally's appearance.

Sally plopped down in a chair and spread eagle with his head overhanging the back of the chair. He groaned as he hiked himself up saying, "I am so fucking glad to have that fucking wire off my fucking balls."

I couldn't help it. The looks on the guys faces was priceless. I burst out laughing. I thought I saw Ranger and Tank give fleeting half smiles as well. Once I had managed to get control of myself once more, Ranger turned to Sally and suggested putting him in a safe house until we had Mary Lou in custody. Sally grinned and said, "I'm all for a fucking paid vacation. Bring it on."

Ram and Jeanne Ellen would go to the safe house with Sally while we worked to catch Mary Lou. It was also decided we should let the police in on what we knew so far. Ranger arranged to have Morelli come and get Sally's statement before he was moved. As I listened to the plans that the guys were making, I had a sudden thought that my special photo album might come in handy. There were several pictures of Mary Lou in there and I thought I could pick up some clues. I slipped out of the conference room and went over to Hal's desk. I stood there a couple minutes with my head down before he looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.

I hadn't had much contact with Hal since I had stunned him. I couldn't tell from the look on his face if he were holding a grudge or not. I leaned in, "I need your help."

Hal frowned, "With what?"

"I need someone to go to my house and pick up a special photo album. Will you do it for me?"

I could see Hal debating. I rolled my eyes, "I'm really sorry I stunned you."

He shook his head, "You're sorry you got caught before you could make good your escape."

I shrugged, "There's that too. Look, I need someone to go out and pick up this photo album. Otherwise I'm going to have to go get it myself."

Hal smiled as he sat back and folded his arms across his chest. "What's it worth to you?"

My eyes widened, "What did you have in mind?"

Hal shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe you let me stun you so we're even."

I shook my head, "I don't like that idea."

Hal shrugged, "It sure would make me feel better."

I bit my lip and narrowed my eyes. "What if I got my grandma to agree to be nice to you anytime she sees you?"

Hal scoffed, "What good would that do me. Your granny is old. I'm quicker than she is."

I narrowed my eyes as I studied Hal. "I'm not going to let you stun me so there has to be something else."

Hal rolled his eyes and sighed, "Alright. I have monitor shift this weekend and there's a concert I'd like to see. If you'll take my monitor shift this weekend I'll go get your photo album."

I stuck my hand out and said, "Deal." I mean after all, how hard could a monitor shift be?

Hal smiled and stood, "Nice doing business with you. Oh, by the way, just so you know you'll be doing monitor shift with Tank. Everybody hates monitor shift with Tank because you aren't allowed to talk, eat or drink while you are watching the monitors."

Shit! The little toad set me up. Well 2 could play at that game. I smiled and gave him a nod. "No problem. I'll just call my grandma and let her know you're on your way."

Hal started laughing as he stood up and headed for the stairwell. I went back into the conference room and dug my phone out of my purse. I glanced around the room and noticed everyone seemed busy. I connected a call to my grandma and waited for her to pick up.

"What's up baby girl?"

I smiled, "Grandma, I'm having a friend come out and pick up my special photo album."

As I talked with my grandma, I was unaware that all activity in the conference room had stopped and everyone was listening into my conversation. Grandma came back with, "I'm not sure I know where that is."

I smiled, "It's on the top of the dresser in my room as you well know. However, Hal is on his way to pick it up and he blackmailed me into taking his monitor shift for the weekend so he can go to a concert."

I was unaware of Tank giving me a double take and the rest of the guys breaking out in grins. All except Ranger, he had his blank look on. Grandma chuckled, "So would you have a problem if I had some fun with this Hal fella?"

I smiled, "Grandma, I would love nothing more than for you to have as much fun with Hal as you can."

"Okay. He might not get back there tonight, but I'll make sure he gets to you in one piece….eventually."

I smiled, "Thanks gran. Oh, by the way, Hal has this incredible stun gun I know you'd love to see."

She chuckled and I had a feeling I could safely leave Hal's payback in her hands. I disconnected the call and looked around the room to see everyone staring at me. I asked, "What? It was either that or let him stun me and that wasn't an option I was overly fond of. I offered to have grandma be nice to him whenever she saw him but he figured she was old and he was quicker than her."

Ranger put his hand on top of mine and said, "You never disappoint Babe. I'll take your weekend monitor duty."

I turned and kissed Ranger's mouth before replying, "Naw, that's okay. I think I can handle Tank."

There was sputtered laughter and I thought I heard someone say, "I got $500 on Bomber in 5 hours." There was more but I tuned it out as Ranger covered my mouth and kissed me back. When we came up for air the conference room was empty.

Ranger spoke softly to me as he said, "You'll have three, eight hour shifts with Tank over the next three days. That starts tonight Babe. Are you sure you're up for it?"

I nodded. "No problem."

Ranger kissed me and said, "If you run into any problems just give me a call."

"Sure." Then I had another thought, "When does the first shift start?"

Ranger smiled his full million watt smile and said, "In 10 minutes."

I groaned. Then suddenly I brightened. "I have Rangeman security at my house. I'll get to see what happens to Hal." With that I kissed Ranger and hurried off to monitor duty.

I saw Tank already seated and slipped into the seat beside him. "Hey big guy, which of these monitors is to my house?"

Tank looked at me without saying a word for several seconds and then he keyed up the monitor in front of me to show my house. I bit my lip and asked, "Can we tape it so I have a copy?"

Tank didn't say a word; he just leaned over and pressed a button. I rolled my eyes and stood up. Tank kept his eyes on me as I stepped over to him and wrapped my arms around his massive shoulders. Tank's eyes got huge as he continued to look at me warily. I grinned, "If we have a hope in hell of getting through the next few hours, you are going to have to lighten up and talk to me."

Tank and I stared at each other for several seconds before there was a rumble in his chest and Tank threw back his head and roared with laughter. Several heads popped in and I looked around at several dumbfounded Merry Men. Lester shook his head and said, "I'll be damned. Beautiful broke Tank in under 5 minutes. Hector, how the hell could you know she'd break him in under 5 minutes?"

Hector grinned and said something I didn't understand but got the rest of the guys laughing. "Que te puedo decir? Si ella puede hacer que Ranger se deshaga de su regla en contra del azucar, Tank no tenia ninguna oportunidad en contra de ella." (_What can I say? If she can get Ranger to cave his ban on sugar for her then Tank didn't stand a chance against her._)

Several of the guys shook their heads and they were about to disperse when I saw Hal pull up to my house. I motioned to the monitor and said, "Oh look! Hal just pulled up at my house."

All the guys that were previously headed out were suddenly crowding behind Tank and me. I watched on the monitor as Hal got out of the SUV and headed to the front door. As he neared, my grandma came to the door.

Hal smiled at grandma and said, "Hello Mrs. Mazur. Stephanie sent me to pick up a special photo album."

Grandma nodded, "Yes. She told me someone would be stopping by for it. Do you have your I.D. sonny?"

Hal smiled. "Yes ma'am. Very smart of you to request an I.D."

Hal handed her his I.D. and I watched as grandma looked it over. She squinted and looked very closely at Hal. Then she opened the door and stepped back so Hal could enter. As Hal neared grandma, I saw the tell-tale grin. As Hal got even with her she reached out and pinched Hal's ass. The guys behind me started laughing as Hal jumped and squeaked.

Grandma got ahead of Hal and said, "I'm not sure where it might be. We might need to look around for it." She stopped and waited for Hal to catch up with her. Hal hadn't caught onto the fact he shouldn't get close to grandma. She smiled at Hal and moved her dentures around as she asked, "Are you any good at hide and seek?" As she'd asked the question her hand grabbed his genitals and Hal jumped again as he let out a startled gasp.

More laughter from behind us as we continued to watch. Hal happened to look up at that moment and I could tell he recognized the camera. His face turned beet red and he mumbled something under his breath that I was unable to catch. Hal stepped over to grandma and took hold of her hands as he led her through to the room where she thought they should look. I had to give Hal credit for catching on to the best way to keep grandma's hands away from him. However, I knew he didn't have a hope in hell of keeping her from feeling him up.

We watched for over an hour as they searched for the photo album. Grandma would make sure Hal was distracted before she would strike. Poor Hal didn't stand a chance. The crème de le grace was when grandma had Hal looking in an old trunk and while he was bent over looking through the trunk, grandma took a pair of scissors off the end table close by and snipped his pants causing them to split down the middle and baring his naked ass to the camera. My eyes widened in stunned horror as the guys behind me burst into laughter. Even Tank's massive shoulders were shaking with uncontrollable laughter. Grandma's hands went right to Hal's "Package" via the back door. Hal straightened up with a look of horror on his face and I turned to see several of the guys rolling on the floor laughing their asses off.

Grandma smiled at Hal and said, "Young man, you sure are hung well." She held up the photo album and continued, "I think this is the book Stephanie was wanting."

Hal reached out for the book and when grandma closed the distance to hand it to him he put his other hand out and said, "That's close enough ma'am. I'll just take the book please."

Grandma nodded and said, "Of course young man. Oh, I see you have a stun gun, can I take a look at it?"

Hal looked up and glared at the camera before saying, "No ma'am. I've learned it's not safe in the hands of others."

Grandma smiled, "Shall I walk you to the door?"

There was panic on Hal's face as he quickly said, "No! I'll see myself out ma'am."

Once that was said, he sidestepped his way to the door and once he had opened the door he raced to the SUV like the hounds of hell were after him.

I smiled. I wondered if Hal liked the deal he'd made now?

_Do you think Hal likes the deal he made? Will Stephanie find anything in the photo album? What is the plan that she's worked out?_


	27. Ultimatums

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 27: Ultimatums

Stephanie's POV:

Once Hal had left my house the crowd behind Tank and me broke up. Nearly an hour later Hal walked in and handed me the photo album. His face was red and I noticed he had stopped to change before coming up to 5. I smiled and said, "Thanks Hal. Grandma wasn't too much trouble was she?"

"Not at all Stephanie, she was no trouble."

I nodded, "Thanks again Hal."

He tossed me a salute and headed out. I could hardly wait till he'd left before I broke down laughing. I didn't do too bad for a while, but Tank and I had only been on duty for 2 and ½ hours when I felt my lids drooping. I was so tired. I got up and moved around a little, I tried to make conversation with Tank; I even went to the break room and brought back a coke and a snack. Finally I gave up and grabbed a jacket from a chair nearby and folded it up for a pillow and then I laid another jacket on the floor to lie on. I lay down and in minutes I was sound asleep. I wasn't aware of Tank silently laughing.

When I woke up there were several Merry Men looking down at me. I glared up at Tank and asked, "What, you couldn't have warned me?"

Tank shook his head, "I tried to wake you up Little Girl. You said the next time I bothered you I'd be missing my favorite parts. I figured it was safer to let you sleep."

I sat up and stretched. That's when I saw Ranger. He was standing there with his arms crossed. He reached out a hand and I took hold of his hand and he helped me up. I grabbed the photo album and he led me up to 7. Ella had brought a lovely breakfast. We sat down and enjoyed our meal before I headed into the bedroom. I thought about taking a nap, but the photo album was calling to me so I decided to look through it first.

I lay down on my stomach on the bed and looked through the photo album. I looked through page after page of me and other school friends, family, teachers. Mary Lou was in the vast majority of the photos. There were 2 that caught my interest. The first one was taken at my parent's house in the kitchen. Mary Lou and I were sitting watching my mother make cookies, we were 10 years old. The look on Mary Lou's face was wistful. I looked at the picture to see what it was that she was looking at and noticed it was the way my mother and Val were interacting. I removed that picture from the album and moved on to the second picture that had caught my interest. It had the whole group; Lula, Connie, Joe, Eddie, Lenny, Carl, Mary Lou and me. The look on Mary Lou's face was telling. When I'd looked at the album in the past, I'd always assumed it was Lenny that had Mary Lou's interest. Today I looked at the photo more closely. I noticed all the guys were looking at me. I had never seen that before. I followed Mary Lou's gaze and noticed she was looking nowhere near Lenny. She was looking in the direction that Joe, Eddie and Carl were standing. I took that photo out and placed it with the other one. I didn't see any other photos so I closed the album and set it on the nightstand.

I turned over on my back and slipped into my thinking position. The next thing I knew I was waking up with a bad feeling like something really bad was going to happen. Before I could move, my phone rang. I got up and fished it out of my purse. "Hello?"

"Well, well. If it isn't my _former_ friend."

"What do you want Mary Lou?"

I could imagine the nasty smile on her face, "I thought I'd give you a chance to save your grandma."

The sick feeling just got worse. "What have you done?"

"Nothing yet. And it can stay that way. As long as you leave that fortress you're staying in and head to Pino's."

"And if I don't?"

"Then you can say goodbye to your grandma."

I bit my lip. "It's not like I can just walk out the door."

"Figure it out or she dies."

There was a click and I looked down at my phone with narrowed eyes. I must have spoken out loud as I said, "You touch one hair on my grandma's head Mary Lou and I'll take you out personally."

Ranger placed a hand on my shoulder, "I'll make sure your grandma is okay Babe."

I looked up at him with wounded eyes. "I have to go or she said she'd kill grandma. I can't let her do that."

"Shhh. We'll figure out something."

I went in and took a shower. I needed to think and being so close to Ranger short circuited my brain. Once I was thoroughly clean, hair all dried and loosely curled, make up on and all dressed, I stepped out of the bathroom to see Ranger holding out something for me to put on. I slipped into it and smiled at him. He leaned down to kiss me and whispered something in my ear. I stilled at his words and looked up to see if I heard him right. He had his blank look on and I just nodded and followed him through the apartment.

We took the elevator down to the garage and Ranger helped me into the Turbo before sliding into the driver's seat. In no time we were pulling into Pino's lot. I waited for Ranger to come around and help me out. After all, there was no reason to make myself a sitting duck. We walked into Pino's and luck was with us because Ranger got the back booth where he was able to have his back to the wall and watch all the doors and windows. I slid in across from him. The waitress came over and took our order. I got a meatball sub and Ranger ordered a salad. I shook my head as the waitress walked away with our order.

As we waited for our meal to come, I noticed that Joe, Eddie and Carl had come in. I raised my hand and gave them a finger wave. I was only slightly surprised when they joined us. The waitress returned and took their added order so she could bring all the food together. Carl put a hand on the back of my neck and asked, "How you doing Steph?"

I smiled, "I'm doing good Carl."

He shook his head, "You could have knocked me over with a feather when I heard about your mom coming at you."

I looked down but his hand brought my chin back up, "She didn't deserve you."

I gave a half shrug. I looked over to Ranger and noticed he was watching Carl with narrowed eyes. I smiled and asked Carl, "Have you met Ranger?"

Carl's gaze was slightly cooler as he turned to Ranger, "Yeah. I know him."

I nodded. "We're a couple."

Eddie broke in, "No way!" He turned to Ranger, "You let her eat sugar at Rangeman?"

Ranger gave a slight nod, "I've come to realize sugar is a necessity for some people. I've made a few allowances."

All three of the guys laughed. Joe snorted, "More like you were in fear of not measuring up if you didn't let her have her sugar."

I glared at Joe. "Ranger doesn't have any worries in that capacity."

Joe and Eddie laughed. I turned to Carl as he suddenly looked a little pale. I frowned, "Is something wrong Carl?"

He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes, "No. Nothing wrong."

The conversation went to safer topics after that. Eddie told us all about the latest pranks his three boys played on the neighborhood. Apparently they got a hold of all the props to create a huge mud pit that covered the entire neighborhood. They set it up so it would erupt like a volcano, splattering mud on all the houses as well. They had slightly miscalculated though and instead of the mud erupting on their neighborhood, the mud erupted on the houses to the east of them in the fancier section of the neighborhood. There was a fancy wedding being filmed at one of those places and when the mud erupted it got every single one of the guests. The bride was inconsolable and several of the guests were furious. Including the Chief of Police who was attending the ceremony.

We were all laughing when the waitress brought our food. We made small talk as we ate. I noticed Ranger looking at his watch a couple of times but when I caught his eye he just gave a miniscule shake of his head as if to say it wasn't important. When we were finally finished, Ranger insisted on paying for the entire tab. The guys were going to argue at first but when I smiled and told them they could return the favor some time they laughed and nodded. We all walked out about the same time. I turned to say goodbye to Joe, Eddie and Carl and had a sudden premonition that things were going to hell in a hand basket.

The shot rang out and my eyes widened in horror as I turned to Ranger, seeing him moving towards me as if to protect me. Joe, Eddie and Carl had their guns out and were crouching down as they searched for the shooter. I felt something hit my chest and I felt myself falling as everything went black.

_Uh…..remember I warned those of you who reviewed, or at least most of you, that there was a huge cliffhanger coming up. Well, here it is. Now none of you know where I live…right? The next chapter will be up Monday. Oh! Wait! That's wrong…..the next chapter will be up tomorrow…..sometime._


	28. A Funeral To Remember

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 28: A Funeral To Remember

Ranger's POV:

I heard the gunshot and raced to reach Stephanie but I wasn't in time. The bullet ripped through her and she fell. I managed to catch her on her way down. I gently lifted her limp body in my arms and let out a roar of rage. In seconds Tank, Bobby and Lester were there possibly thinking they might be able to control me. I searched the surrounding area but there was no sign of the shooter. I turned to Tank and demanded, "Find the shooter. They. Are. Dead."

Tank gave the order and I knew my men would fan out and search everywhere. I carried Babe's too still body to the Cayenne and gently placed her in the back seat. I turned and saw Joe and Eddie had joined my men in searching for the shooter. Carl on the other hand was taking the parking lot apart. He had his night stick out and was taking his rage out on the parked cars in the lot. Bobby trotted over and asked if I was okay. I shook my head. He joined me as I got in the Cayenne and headed back to Rangeman.

I pulled out my phone and made a call to Hal. I waited impatiently till he answered with a, "Rangeman, this is Hal speaking. How may I help you?"

"I need you to head out to Stephanie's house and tell her grandma and Lula that Stephanie's dead."

There was stunned silence on the other end. "I'm sorry boss."

"Let them know I'll take care of the arrangements."

"Yes sir."

I disconnected the call and tightened my hand around it.

Grandma Mazur's POV:

When Hal knocked on my door and told me what was happening and what I would be asked to do over the next few weeks, I couldn't believe it. I called Lula home and we went over all the arrangements. Although Hal said Ranger would take care of all the arrangements, there were things I needed to insist upon for my little girl. I'd called Frank and told him he was needed where he was and I would handle this. Lula and I made a list of what we thought Stephanie might like and I worked to get it for her. All her friends would be there. She had so many. I could hardly credit that Mary Lou was the one behind all this. I always thought Stephanie would be planning my funeral before I ever planned hers. I lifted my chin and went about putting everything together. My baby was going to have the best funeral in the Burg.

Mary Lou's POV:

I knew if I gave Stephanie the ultimatum that she would come out. Then it was a matter of waiting till the perfect time. I smiled as I watched her pull up with that man in black she was always with. I had the perfect view to watch until they were done. I had this all timed out so I would have the most time to get away and I'd be sure to hit her right in the chest. I was just congratulating myself when the man I loved pulled up with two of the other cops he always hung around. I watched as he walked into Pino's and sat at _her_ booth. I narrowed my eyes and everything in me cried out to be close enough to scratch her eyes out. He loved her…how could she not see it?

I had to lie here watching her with them, watching her with_ him_. Why couldn't he have loved me? What did _she_ have that I didn't? I sat back and waited. Soon enough they were getting up and moving. The time was nearing. Soon she'd be cold and I could go to him and comfort him. After all, no one had any proof of anything. I saw them coming out and I got ready. I had my rifle aimed and I had her in my sights. I eased the trigger and fired. I waited only long enough to watch her start to fall and then I started running. I was breaking the gun down as I ran. I had a cab parked close by and was driving away before anyone could find me.

I smiled. Take that Stephanie Plum. Now I just had to get control of Madam X's money and I would be out of Trenton just as soon as I attended Stephanie's funeral. I slipped into my hideout and booted up my computer. I got to work on putting the funds right where I wanted them. I had everything set up to start trickling into the account I'd created and now I just had to sit back for a couple of days till I could close out the accounts.

I decided to head out for a paper while I was waiting and I couldn't believe my luck when I saw the headlines:

**Trenton's own Bombshell Bounty Hunter Shot Down in The Prime of Life**

_Today Trenton lost its own Bombshell Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum. She  
was walking out of Pino's restaurant when she was shot down...Stephanie is survived  
by her father, a half-sister and her grandmother. Stephanie was well loved in the  
community and we will miss her greatly._

I smiled and almost giggled with glee but decided I needed to wait till I saw her in the coffin before I'd start celebrating. I made my way back to the dumpy apartment where I had been staying and slipped back into the room I was using. I checked the obits but it only said arrangements were pending. I'd need to get a paper each day till I knew when I could go "pay my respects" so to speak. I checked back in and noticed the money was moving rather slowly. Great! Just my luck that I manage to take out Stephanie and now the money wasn't co-operating. I decided to lie down and take a nap.

It was three days later before the funeral was to take place. The only viewing was going to be right before the actual service. Figures. Just my luck. The money was a tight squeeze but I managed to get it all into the account I needed it in. I was to close out the account right before going to the funeral. Then once I saw Stephanie lying in that casket I would be out of here so fast everyone's heads would spin. I showered and readied myself for the appearance of a lifetime. I had to admit I looked hot. I wore a micro mini dress that barely covered the areas it was supposed to. I called a cab and headed for the bank where I would cash out my account.

I entered the bank and made my way up to the proper floor. I asked to talk to one of the investment advisors so I could close out my account. The little mouse behind the desk said it would take a couple minutes. I waited impatiently until a gentleman came my way and held out his hand. He introduced himself to me as Mr. Bunchie. I rolled my eyes. Who would want to admit to a name like that? He took me over to his desk and went through a lot of rig-a-ma-row just to let me know the money would take three days to be ready. I rolled my eyes before handing him my card and told him I needed to leave town that evening and I would expect my money when I returned.

I headed to the funeral home next as it was just a short walk. I wasn't worried. No one had any proof of anything. I walked right into the funeral home and made my way to the room where Stephanie would be laid out. I rolled my eyes as I saw Lula and Stephanie's grandma up there viewing the body. I was just about to walk over and see Stephanie when my phone rang. I checked and seeing it was the bank, I slipped out of the room and connected the call. Mr. Bunchie was calling to tell me he had my money and if I wanted it I'd have to come now because he had an emergency call and would need to leave in 15 minutes. I warned him not to leave till I had my money or he'd be very unhappy.

I quickly made my way back to the bank and stalked into Bunchie's office demanding, "Alright, where's my money?"

Mr. Bunchie indicated a card on his desk, "I just need a signature there stating that you claim to be Madam X."

I signed the card and he handed me a bank check for over 23 million dollars. My eyes widened. I knew it was a lot but I had no clue it was this much. I put the check in my purse and headed back to the funeral home. This time when I arrived there was no one at the casket. I knew I had to hurry before the funeral started. Once the minister started talking there would be no other chance to see Stephanie dead. I was almost there when I saw the minister heading up to start the service. I hurried the last few steps and smiled when I just made it in ahead of the minister. I looked down, a little smile on my face knowing I pulled it all off. I killed Stephanie Plum and I had all that lovely money in my purse. I looked into the coffin and smirked. I bested you Stephanie. How do you like those apples?

I gasped and my hand flew to my chest. I couldn't believe it. What the hell? I turned to see that man that was always with her. He had a gun in my back and the kind of smile you only see in nightmares. He leaned in and whispered, "You're the one that shot her. You killed them all; Val, Terry, Vito, Dickie, and now Stephanie. I know what you have in your purse. Blood money. Now I'm going to kill you."

I felt my legs shaking, "You can't prove anything."

His gaze turned cold, "I can prove Dickie. Sally saw you."

I knew leaving that ugly guy alive was a mistake. I tried to bluff, "You have no proof."

He lifted the check in front of my face. I tried to grab it but he kept it out of my reach. "Give it back. That's mine."

"No. This belongs to Stephanie's family."

I pulled my gun out and pulled the hammer back, "Give me that check or you'll be joining Stephanie in that coffin."

I suddenly felt a hand on me and looked down to see Stephanie's hand holding onto the arm with the gun. I looked back to where she was laying and gasped with fright. I felt myself pulled off my feet and the next thing I know I'm on the ground and Stephanie's body is on top of me. I start screaming and can't stop. This is my worst nightmare…someone coming back to life as we are having their funeral and taking me into the grave with them. I felt the punch to the gut and then the punch in the jaw. I was stunned. How could a corpse hit me? I looked at her and then I knew. Damn it! They'd set me up! I was furious and I attacked. Stephanie kneed me in the stomach and then brought her clasped fists down on my back. I fell to the ground and she was throwing punch after punch after punch.

I grasped my gun and used all my strength to bring it up. I smiled as I took aim….I heard the sound of a gun firing and frowned. I didn't feel any kick. I hadn't pulled the trigger yet. I looked up and saw my love staring at me with such hate in his eyes. I cried out, "No!" I felt the world turning black as my soul cried out. Why Carl? Why couldn't you love _me_?

Stephanie's POV:

I felt Mary Lou go slack as Carl shot her. I looked up and saw the hate on his face for her and felt an incredible sadness. Bobby came over and knelt down beside me. I softly asked, "Is she dead?"

Bobby shook his head. "No. She's alive."

Ranger reached down and helped me up. There was a maybe smile on his face as he said, "Remind me to never piss you off Babe."

I leaned my head into him and asked, "Is it finally over?"

He wrapped me in his arms and softly said, "Almost Babe. Almost."

Carl's POV:

I was gutted when I saw Stephanie fell when the shot rang out. I lost it and took my night stick and let loose on any vehicle close to hand. Once I finally calmed down and Joe had clued me in on what was going on, I felt terrible at the destruction I had caused. Joe and Eddie helped me take care of things by smoothing everything over. I helped them to set everything up with the bank. Joe called in Bunchie and we made sure to string it along so everything would come together at just the right moment. When the guys told me it was Mary Lou that was doing this I couldn't believe it. She was Stephanie's best friend before that ass Lenny made a pass at Steph after he'd married Mary Lou. At one point I'd thought about trying for a relationship with Mary Lou, but then I realized I shouldn't make those promises to another woman when I was in love with Stephanie. I had been in love with her since we were 6 years old.

When I walked into the funeral home and saw Stephanie and Mary Lou fighting, then saw Mary Lou bringing up the gun…no way was I letting her hurt Stephanie. I pulled my gun, aimed, and fired. The hardest part was watching Stephanie go into the arms of Ranger. I could see the love she felt for him in her eyes. I had a feeling I would be putting in for a transfer; as far away from Trenton as I could get.

_The next chapter will be a retelling of Stephanie getting shot and how everything came about._


	29. A Plan In Motion

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 29: A Plan In Motion

Stephanie's POV:

I knew the minute Ranger gave me the "special shirt" that it was time to put my plan in motion. I don't know how they did it but the shirt had a magnet that would draw any bullets to a specific spot that would not only cause a pocket to burst so it would look like I had gotten hit, but it was the one spot reinforced so I wouldn't get too hurt. I knew I should expect a bruise and to be knocked unconscious but that should be all. I was nervous even though I'm the one that thought of the plan. I knew the only way Mary Lou would believe I was dead was if she saw it for herself. Ranger and I were going to Pino's on our own, or at least that's how it would look. I'd arranged with Joe and my cousin Eddie to meet us there. We'd eat lunch and then we'd all leave. For some reason I knew that's when she'd strike.

Ranger and I arrived at Pino's and we even got the booth Ranger liked. When Joe and Eddie came in I was surprised to see Carl with them. I glanced at Joe and he gave a shrug like it was unavoidable. Something about the way Carl looked at me and touched me today made me feel slightly uncomfortable. As I noticed the look on Ranger's face I had a sudden thought. Carl was in the picture that I had singled out and he was in the direction Mary Lou was looking. We talked and ate our lunch. When it was time to leave I started to get more nervous. Ranger touched me and I instantly calmed. I knew I could trust him to handle whatever was to come.

We walked out the door and when the shot rang out I felt something hit my chest. I could feel myself falling as the world went black. From the smell of Bulgari I knew I was in Ranger's arms before the world went totally black. When I came to I was in the back of the Cayenne and we had just pulled into the Rangeman garage. Ranger opened the back door and gently helped me to sit up. "Are you alright Babe?"

I nodded, still not capable of speech for the moment. After several seconds I made to get out of the car but my legs weren't quite steady. Ranger lifted me and carried me over to the elevator. Bobby joined us and we rode up to the 7th floor. Ranger sat me on the sofa and Bobby checked me over. The magnet in the shirt had worked to pull the bullet to the spot we needed and the pocket had exploded as it was meant to. I had major bruising in the area that was hit but nothing was broken or badly damaged. Bobby suggested I rest until Joe and Eddie could make it to talk about our next step. I nodded and curled up on the sofa and was asleep in minutes.

I felt a gentle finger brushing over my cheek sometime later and opened my eyes. Ranger smiled at me, "Time to wake up Babe. Joe and Eddie are here."

I sat up and Ranger helped me to stand. He wrapped an arm around my waist and we took the elevator down to the 5th floor. I noticed Carl was there with Eddie and Joe. The look on his face when he saw me alive and well was telling. I was sad that he had been hurt by our actions. I sat beside Ranger and a few minutes later the rest of the team came in along with the evidence. We made the plans for what we would do next. Just as the meeting was ending Grandma and Lula walked into the room. I went to grandma and she clung to me.

After several minutes she looked up at me and patted my cheek before she said, "That Mary Lou better hope she doesn't run into me anytime in the near future."

I smiled, "Don't worry grandma. We have a plan all thought out to deal with Mary Lou."

"Good! Now I know this has to look real, but I just had to make sure you were really okay. Now don't you worry. I'll be the best actress in the world."

"There was never a doubt grandma." I kissed her cheek.

Lula gave me a hug and said, "You take care yourself white girl." Then she turned to Ranger and Tank. She walked right up to Tank and jabbed her finger into his chest, "Anything happens to my girl and you gonna answer to me."

Tank folded his arms across his chest and bent down towards Lula with a glare on his face, "And just what do you think you're going to do missy?"

Lula smiled and stepped up closer to Tank, "I'll knock you on yo ass Big Boy."

I could see the smile on grandma's face and knew there was an answering smile on my face. Tank leaned in closer to Lula and I noticed the sensual shudder she gave in reaction to his closeness. When Tank suddenly went down on his ass, we were all surprised, but no one was more surprised than Tank himself. None of us had seen Lula act. She had cut his legs out from under him by ramming a chair into his calves which caused his knees to buckle and he went down. Tank recovered quickly and when Lula went to step away she wasn't aware Tank had gotten a hold of her ankle and she went down on top of him. There was enough heat between them to start a fire.

Joe, Eddie and Carl made their way out of the conference room and Ranger motioned Junior to see them off the premises. We looked back at Tank and Lula and decided to give them a little privacy. As the guys were walking towards the elevator I had a sudden thought and called out, "Hey Joe. Remember that guy you had following me around when I was looking into my uncle's disappearance?"

Joe turned with a forced innocent look and said, "Whatever are you talking about Cupcake?"

I gave Joe my best Burg glare and took a step closer towards him. Joe put his hands up and said, "Alright Cupcake. I know who you are talking about. What about him?"

"Can you ask him to help us out with the set up? He does deal with fraud after all."

"I'll give him a call and then I'll give you a call when we have all the players in place."

I nodded and leaned back into Ranger's arms. A few moments later Lula stalked over to where we were standing and lifted her head in the air, "Ready to go granny?"

Grandma glanced Tank's way before turning back to Lula. "Sure. We got places to go to make this all look on the up and up." Grandma turned to Ranger, "Course it would look a might better if we had a big strapping young man with us to comfort us."

I smiled because I could see where grandma was going with this. Ranger might have had an inkling too as he asked, "Anyone particular in mind?"

Grandma looked around and stopped at Hal. His eyes got huge and he actually paled. Then her gaze moved on till she reached Tank. She nodded, "How about the big guy?"

Tank looked like he'd been poleaxed. He shot Ranger a look that would have a lesser man wetting himself. Ranger laid a hand on grandma's shoulder and said, "How can I deny you anything in a time like this. It seems only fitting that Tank be the one to take you around town."

There was a low growl coming from Tank's vicinity.

Over the next couple days I stayed in the apartment on 7 when I wasn't doing searches or on the computer helping with the upcoming sting. Hector had found the money and it was all secured. A dummy account had been created and that was the account Mary Lou had arranged to have transferred to her account. The one holdout was the funeral home. It didn't help that the funeral home we needed to use was none other than the one grandma and I had been credited with burning down. They had just rebuilt and didn't want to take any chances. Ranger was ready to apply physical force when I convinced him to invite the owner/undertaker to Rangeman so I could talk to him. Although Ranger didn't like the idea he arranged for it to happen.

I was waiting in the conference room off the lobby when Bobby and Lester walked in with Mr. Bodyman. When he saw me he started to hyperventilate. I asked him to have a seat and then I told him he wasn't seeing a ghost, it was really me. He sat down and put a shaky hand out for the glass of water before him. Ranger was beside me and Bobby and Lester sat on either side of Bodyman. I smiled and waited for him to take a drink.

I sat forward a little and asked, "How are you doing Mr. Bodyman?"

"I've had better days."

I smiled and nodded, "Probably when you thought I was dead."

"NO! I was never more scared in my life! When your grandmother came I locked every door in the place. I just rebuilt, I can't handle another fire."

I bit my lip so I wouldn't laugh, "There won't be a fire this time. But we do need your help."

He was already shaking his head so I continued, "We need your help to catch the person responsible for your first funeral home going up in flames."

Bodyman stilled, "What do you mean?"

"I didn't start that fire and neither did my grandmother. We were at a viewing, but someone else fired the shot that started the fire."

"Are you just saying that?"

"It's true. If you help us, we can catch the person so they don't get away with it."

"I don't know…."

"I can guarantee that if anything happens, I will make good on paying for the damages."

He tilted his head to the side, "Well….."

I glared at him and he swallowed before agreeing, "Alright! Just tell me what to do."

With that last hurdle behind us we were able to go forward. The announcement was put in the paper that the day after tomorrow would be a visitation immediately followed by the funeral service. Ranger would take care of getting me into the funeral home undetected and then we would set everything up to catch Mary Lou.

On the morning of the funeral, Ranger, Tank, Bobby and Les went with me to the funeral home. When it was time for me to get in the coffin I had a few tense moments because it felt too real. I got as comfortable as possible and Ranger handed me a gun to place beneath me. I didn't have to worry about lying still till I was cued so I kept my eyes opened. To say the guests were surprised to see my eyes open was putting it mildly.

Mooner shook his head and said, "That's gonna give me nightmares Dudette."

Sally grinned and said, "Fucking A."

Grandma and Lula were at the coffin when Mary Lou came in. Lula reached out her hand and placed it over my eyes and I quickly shut them. I could feel her closing in when her phone rang. Once she left I knew it was only a matter of time before she returned. I knew we were planning on her second arrival for a precise time and so I was ready with my eyes closed. I once again felt her nearing and had an idea she was looking at me smugly.

I heard Ranger tell Mary Lou, "You're the one that shot her. You killed them all; Val, Terry, Vito, Dickie, and now Stephanie. I know what you have in your purse. Blood money. Now I'm going to kill you."

She responded with, "You can't prove anything."

Ranger told her, "I can prove Dickie. Sally saw you."

I could hear the panic in her voice, "You have no proof."

I heard the rustle that told me Ranger had the check. Mary Lou was clearly not happy with the way things were going as she said, "Give it back. That's mine."

Ranger replied, "No. This belongs to Stephanie's family."

I heard the sound of the hammer on a gun being pulled back and then Mary Lou was saying, "Give me that check or you'll be joining Stephanie in that coffin."

I reached out and grabbed Mary Lou's arm that held the gun. She looked at me and gasped with fright. I yanked with all my might to pull her off balance and threw my body on top of her. I punched her in the gut as hard as I could and then followed it up with a punch to the jaw. Mary Lou realized we had set her up and she attacked. I was ready for her. Not only was I royally pissed at all she'd put me through, but she'd set up Mooner and threatened my grandma. I'd also worked at Rangeman long enough to learn some wicked defense moves. I easily deflected her attack and kneed her in the stomach before clasping my hands together and bringing them down on her back. She fell to the ground and I started throwing punch after punch after punch.

I wasn't aware of Mary Lou bringing her gun up. The first inkling I had that she had planned to shoot me was when I saw the gun in her limp hand. My first clue that she had been trying something was when I felt her go limp and looked up to see the hate on Carl's face as he looked down at her and I felt her go slack. Bobby came over and knelt down beside me. I softly asked, "Is she dead?"

Bobby shook his head. "No. She's alive."

Ranger reached down and helped me up. There was a maybe smile on his face as he said, "Remind me to never piss you off Babe."

I leaned my head into him and asked, "Is it finally over?"

He wrapped me in his arms and softly said, "Almost Babe. Almost."

Bunchie arrived a few minutes later and Ranger went over to where Joe, Eddie, Carl and Bunchie were going over the incident. Bobby stayed beside me and grandma and Lula made their way over as well. Mr. Bodyman was having hysterics. I saw Mooner go over to him and wrap his arm around Bodyman's neck and tell him, "Chill dude. Nothing to fear when Dudette is near."


	30. Disagreements Turned Messy

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 30: Disagreements Turned Messy

Stephanie's POV:

It was a long day dealing with the aftermath of Mary Lou. I was so glad when the day had run its course and I was once again in the apartment on 7 with Ranger. There were some things that would have to be put on hold for a while though. Mary Lou was taken to St. Francis and had to have emergency surgery. I knew she made it through surgery but that was all. Ranger had arranged to have two men guarding her at all times to make sure she didn't slip away from the police and create more havoc. We'd had a debriefing session and I was feeling pretty good. I waited till the guys had left to broach a subject with Ranger. When I brought up Carl I could see Ranger tense up.

I put a hand on Ranger's arm and said, "Carl has only ever been a friend. I never knew how deeply he felt for me. It feels uncomfortable and I want to help him find a job elsewhere to make it easier on him as well as me."

Ranger turned his hand and clasped my hand, then he smiled at me. "I can arrange a transfer for you Babe if you're sure that's what you want."

I nodded. "It feels awkward knowing Carl feels so deeply about me. I overheard him mentioning to Joe that it was past time for him to ask the Chief for that transfer."

Ranger made some calls and we found out there was an opening in L.A. for a police detective. Carl would not only be several thousands of miles away, but he would also receive a promotion. Ranger asked me if I was sure and at my nod he set everything in motion.

At one point during the late afternoon, just before sunset, I was resting on the sofa in Ranger's office while he dealt with Mr. Bodyman. The man had really freaked after we left and although Ram and Jeanne Ellen gave it their best he insisted on speaking to someone in charge. While Ranger was gone I noticed something in the back corner of his office and stood up to take a look. I opened the canister and pulled out the papers inside. I looked around and took them over to the coffee table to lay them out so I could see them. I didn't know much about blue prints, but I would say these were to my property.

I could see the potential for what he had planned. Although he would have torn down the house, the rest of the plans for the property were awesome. I bit my lip as I concentrated on possibilities. I heard a commotion and looked out of the office to see Ranger had returned. I quickly replaced the plans in the canister and set it back in the corner. As I did I took note of the name on the canister. When Ranger entered his office I met him at the door and wrapped my arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed me.

When the kiss ended I asked, "You get everything taken care of?"

Ranger winked at me, "Everything's good Babe."

We were finally able to go up to 7 and relax. Ella brought us a meal and we ate before settling onto the sofa and cuddling. After the excitement of the day, once Ranger had taken me in his arms I was asleep in no time.

The next morning when I woke up I was alone in the bed. I checked the alarm and knew Ranger was in the gym. I stretched and got up, padding into the shower to get ready for the day. I shaved, shampooed and then lathered up before rinsing off and climbing out of the shower to dry off and dress. I pulled on black jeans and a little red t-shirt that barely met the top of the jeans. I added socks and my black Doc Martins. After brushing my hair out I added gel and tamed it into big curls. Once I was happy with how my hair looked I added makeup. I stopped at 2 coats of mascara but then thought of all the things I would need to do today and added another coat for good measure. I had just finished getting ready when I heard Ranger enter the apartment.

I padded through to the entryway and smiled as I watched him toss his key fob in the ashtray. Ranger held his hands up and said, "I need a quick shower. I'll meet you in the kitchen when I get dressed."

I laughingly agreed. I went into the kitchen and started the coffee. Then I got in the fridge and grabbed the orange juice. I poured myself an orange juice before returning it to the shelf and then I grabbed the ingredients to Ranger's smoothie. I had to smile at the fact that Ranger liked my smoothies better than his own or Ella's. I put in the 4 strawberries, ½ cup blueberries, ½ cup raspberries, 1 banana, 1 butterscotch krimpet, and 1 cup vanilla yogurt. I blended it all together till it was thoroughly mixed and then put it in the special smoothie glass Ranger always used. By the time I had the glass on the table, Ella was arriving with our breakfast.

I smiled and asked, "How are you doing today Ella?"

Ella smiled back and replied, "Doing great Steph. I see you made Ranger's smoothie. One of these days you're going to have to share your recipe. What if you're under the weather one day and I need to make the smoothie?"

"Now Ella, you know Ranger will drink your smoothie. He may not like it as well but he would still drink it."

Ella gave me a knowing look and winked as she set the breakfast dishes out and left. I had just poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down when Ranger joined me. He kissed me and took his seat across from me. "What are your plans for today Babe?"

"I thought I'd go out to the house and see how grandma and Lula have been faring since I've been gone."

"What are my chances of getting you to take a shadow? Just until this thing with Mary Lou is completely over."

I sighed and rolled my eyes but I knew I would do it for him. "Okay. Do I get to choose who I take?"

Ranger lifted an eyebrow and said, "You can have Tank, or you can have Tank."

I couldn't help laughing, "Good thing I planned on asking for Tank then isn't it?"

Ranger stilled, "What do you have up your sleeve Babe?"

I winked, "Don't worry. I'll try and keep him in one piece."

Ranger shook his head and drained the smoothie. He set the glass down and said, "I don't know what it is you put in there Babe, but that is the best smoothie. Maybe one of these days you can share your recipe with Ella and me. We just don't have your flare."

I grinned, "A girl has to have a secret or two."

We finished up the breakfast Ella brought for us. I had an omelet, hash browns and toast while Ranger had his usual lox and a bagel. We made short work of the cleanup and headed down to 5. Ranger stopped at my desk and kissed me before moving onto his office. I had only been working about 20 minutes when a shadow fell over my work space. I looked up to see Tank standing there. I grinned and said, "Hey Big Guy. What can I do for you?"

"Ranger said I'm shadowing you today. I wanted to make sure we wouldn't be anywhere near that crazy ass broad that lives with you and your granny."

"Lula? What do you have against Lula Tank?"

Tank glared and I could swear I heard a growl as well. "She puts my back up."

I smiled, "Maybe that's because you like her more than you want to?"

Tank's eyes widened in horror, "Bite your tongue Little Girl."

I laughed, "As far as I know Lula will be working. However, I can't make any guarantees."

Tank turned and grumbled all the way back to his office. 'Oh Boy!' I thought to myself as I watched him walk into his office and shut the door. I went back to my computer and got to work on the searches in my in box. I worked till about 11 a.m. and then figured by the time we got to my house, grandma was bound to have lunch ready. I fished out my cell phone and called to let her know there would be two extras for lunch. Then I headed for Tank's office and opened the door without knocking. Tank looked up with a scowl but as soon as he saw me he lost the scowl and stood.

Tank grabbed his utility belt and strapped it on. "You ready to go Little Girl?"

I nodded, "Yeah. If we leave now we'll be in time for lunch."

Tank winced but I didn't take offense. We headed to the garage and I went to the Cayenne. Tank shook his head and said, "We're taking my Explorer. Only place I let women drive me is in bed Little Girl."

I rolled my eyes but walked over to his SUV and climbed in. In no time we were pulling up to my house. Tank gave a sigh of relief when he didn't see Lula's Firebird parked in the front. We got out and made our way up to the front door. Grandma of course heard us pull up and she was at the front door to open it when we reached it. I gave grandma a hug and then we made our way into the dining room.

Grandma waved Tank to a chair, "Have a seat. I'll have lunch on the table in a minute."

I winked at Tank and went to help grandma. She'd made meatloaf sandwiches, potato salad and cole slaw. I carried the platter of sandwiches to the table while she brought the salads. Grandma smiled at Tank and reached over to pat his cheek, "Help yourself Big Guy."

Tank gave a slight grimace but lifted the platter of sandwiches and set two on his plate before passing the platter to me. I took a sandwich and then held the platter so grandma could grab a sandwich. I passed the platter back to Tank. There were another half dozen sandwiches or so on the platter. He set the platter on the table and then we passed the salads around. We had just started eating when the front door burst open and I heard Lula stomping in. I turned to Tank and he had just taken a huge bite of sandwich. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing.

Lula walked into the dining room and stopped cold. She too looked like a deer caught in headlights. I looked at grandma and she had a sly looking smile on her face. Lula glared at grandma and asked, "Did you just set me up granny?"

Grandma gave Lula a surprised look and asked, "Why would I do that?"

Lula grumbled as she ambled over and took the only seat left at the table. Her chair was next to Tank's. Grandma jumped up and said she'd get a plate. She was back in seconds and set a plate and silverware in front of Lula as well as a glass and filled it from the picture of milk. Lula looked at her plate and then looked at the food, then moved her gaze to Tank. I slid a look to grandma and she winked at me. Lula was going to have to talk to Tank in order to get her food. Tank came to realize that at the same time Lula did and he sat back and folded his arms over his chest just waiting for her to ask.

Lula mumbled in a voice barely audible, "Can you pass me the sandwich platter?"

Tank didn't move. Lula huffed and slightly louder asked, "Can I have the sandwiches please?"

Again Tank remained motionless. Lula glared at Tank as she put her hands on her hips and said, "Pass the sandwiches please?" This time she was loud enough for all of us to hear.

Tank looked at her but remained motionless. Lula's eyes narrowed and she looked like she was getting ready to go into full Rhino mode. "I asked you to pass the sandwiches please."

Tank raised an eyebrow, "I didn't hear my name."

Lula looked like she was going to let him have it. Before she could get started I quickly said, "Tank, can you pass Lula the sandwiches please?"

Tank looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. I gave him a narrow-eyed look trying to warn him not to play games. Lula was unpredictable at the best of times. Tank passed the sandwich platter to Lula and she took 3 sandwiches. Tank's eyes widened but he didn't say anything. He passed the platter my way to see if grandma or I wanted another sandwich. We both passed. Tank took 2 more sandwiches and set the platter down. He then took a second helping of potato salad before offering grandma and I more.

We declined and he went to set it back on the table when Lula said, "Hey! Ain't you forgettin' someone?"

Tank looked puzzled, "Who?"

Lula's started mumbling under her breath and I could swear I saw steam coming out her ears. I kicked Tank's shin as hard as I could and only succeeded in hurting my own toes. Tank grinned and patted me on the head before telling me, "Don't hurt yourself like that Little Girl."

I glared at him as I gritted out under my breath, "Then don't antagonize Lula."

Tank's shoulders shook with laughter but he held the salad out to Lula. She took it and helped herself before handing it back. Tank took the other salad and dished up some for himself before asking grandma and me if we wanted any. We both declined but I made sure to say, "I'll bet Lula might like some though."

Tank stared at me for a moment so I narrowed my eyes to let him know I meant business. He smiled and swung his arm out towards Lula. Unfortunately Tank was still looking my way and over shot Lula dumping the cole slaw in her face. Lula had just taken a bite of sandwich and the shock of the salad hitting her in the face had her hyperventilating. She managed to swallow the bite and glared at Tank. "You done that a purpose!"

Tank looked at her and started laughing. Lula's eyes narrowed and she grabbed the potato salad and dumped it over Tank's head. Tank grabbed the pitcher of milk and tossed it at her, dousing her. Lula started grabbing the sandwiches from the platter and throwing them at Tank. Not to be outdone, Tank started throwing sandwiches at Lula. Grandma and I made our way out to the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table to have a piece of Lemon Merengue Pie. We had just finished when Lula came running into the kitchen with Tank hot on her heels. Her eyes lit on the pie and she grabbed it, turned and pushed the pie in Tank's face. He roared and lifted her off her feet and put her over his shoulder. He carried her back into the dining room and sat down before putting her over his knees and spanking her bottom. She kicked, screamed and pummeled to no avail.

Tank didn't stop spanking her till he was ready. When he was done he sat her on her bottom on the messy dining room floor and stood, stalking to the door. When he got to the door he said, "Little Girl, if you're going back to Rangeman with me we're leaving now. As for the mess, let Little Miss Princess clean it up!" and he stormed out the door.

I turned and gave grandma a look before I hurried after Tank.


	31. Intruders

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 31: Intruders

Stephanie's POV:

When Tank and I got back to Rangeman, I had my first inkling that things were not going to go so smoothly for Tank. We got out of the SUV and I headed up to 5 in the elevator and Tank made a stop at his apartment on 4. When I walked onto the floor on 5 all the guys stood and started smiling. I looked behind me but no one was there. Ranger came to his office door and called to me, "Can I see you for a minute Babe?"

I walked slowly towards Ranger's office wondering what the heck was going on. When I reached him Ranger stepped back so I could enter his office and then he shut the door behind us before taking me in his arms and kissing me silly. When he let me come up for air I asked, "What's going on?"

Ranger leaned in close to my ear and said, "The guys saw the food fight between Tank and Lula and now they are waiting for Tank so they can ride him about letting a girl best him."

I looked at Ranger and asked, "Do they have a death wish? Even I knew enough not to talk to Tank on the way back here."

Ranger kissed me before setting me away and replying, "Not all my men are as smart as you are Babe. Now, the reason I called you in here is because I just heard from Morelli."

I put a hand on my stomach and tensed. "What did he have to say?"

"Mary Lou made it through surgery and was transported to the prison hospital. The D.A. is looking forward to proceeding with her trial in a few short weeks. He also had news about Carl getting a transfer to L.A. Apparently he's very excited about it. He'll make a trip back for the trial but he will be leaving in two days to get settled in and start his new job."

"I'm glad he's excited about the move."

Ranger raised an eyebrow and asked, "Now what do you have planned for my second in command and your friend?"

I gave Ranger an innocent look and asked, "What makes you think I have anything planned?"

Ranger gave me his almost smile and said, "Babe."

I rolled my eyes. "It's obvious they like each other. I just think they need a little help admitting it."

Ranger pulled me into his arms and warned, "Tank might not like you meddling Babe."

I smiled, "I'm not meddling. Don't worry. He won't suspect a thing."

I had no more than said that when I heard my name booming through the 5th floor. I winced and met Ranger's gaze before saying, "Or maybe he does."

Ranger leaned down and kissed me before we made our way to his office door. I opened the door to see Tank standing there glaring at the doorway. My eyes widened and I sent him a finger wave. "What can I do for you Big Guy?"

"What did you tell these Bozo's?"

I frowned, "I didn't tell them anything. Why would you think I would?"

"They seem to think a food fight is a funny thing."

I winced, "I have Rangeman security Tank, remember? We all watched Hal the other night with grandma and my guess is the guys on monitors saw what was happening and alerted the rest."

At the sound of groans I knew I was right. Tank turned to Cal and Woody and the smile on his face made me glad I wasn't on the receiving end. Tank's tone was deadly, "That right boys?"

Cal shrugged, "Sounds right."

Tank stepped up to Cal till they were toe to toe, "Still think that was the best idea?"

Cal paled visibly and swallowed. "Well, uh….now that you mention it…."

Tank's face was frightening, "Meet me on the mats at 0400 tomorrow morning and we'll discuss it further." Without looking away from Cal, Tank continued, "You too Woody."

The guys dispersed and went back to their respective cubicles. Tank turned to where I stood beside Ranger. He walked over till he was standing right in front of me and put his hands on his hips, leaning his torso down towards me he said, "You keep that crazy ass woman away from me Little Girl."

I knew Tank was trying for intimidation but the look on his face just struck me as funny. I burst out laughing. I was vaguely aware of the guys on the floor standing and looking at me like I was nuts. I mean after all it _was_ Tank I was laughing at. I couldn't stop the laughter. When Tank growled it only made it worse. I was vaguely aware of Tank getting even more peeved but I couldn't stop the laughter. Finally Ranger lifted me up and set me inside his office and closed the door with me in his office and Tank and him on the other side talking. It was several minutes before I got control of myself. I went to open the door only to find myself locked inside. I started pounding on the door but there was no answer. Normally a locked door would have pissed me off but I think I realized that Ranger was trying to keep me alive. Apparently Tank was more pissed off than I'd realized.

I went over to the corner where the canister with the plans rested and I picked it up. I slid the plans out and laid them on the coffee table. I took out my camera phone and took snap shots of the plans making sure to get every detail. Once I had the photos I replaced the plans and set them back. I wandered over and tried the door once more. It was still locked. I knocked but again nothing happened. I sighed and went over to the sofa to get comfortable. The next thing I knew I opened my eyes to see Ranger kissing me awake. I smiled and returned the kiss.

"So you finally decided to let me out?"

Ranger chuckled, "Just trying to keep you safe Babe. You were tugging the tiger's tail and he was ready to strike."

"So you lock me in your office?"

"Safest place at that moment. Are you ready to go upstairs for a late dinner?"

I nodded. Ranger helped me up and we made our way upstairs to the apartment on 7. Ella brought us a delicious casserole. We had just cleaned up the dishes and had taken a seat on the sofa when my phone rang. I fished it out of my purse and connected the call. "Hello?"

"Steph. Your granny and I heard somethin' outside."

"I'm sure the guys are on their way if there is any sign of an intruder."

"The power's out though."

"Just a minute." I took the phone away from my ear and turned to Ranger. "Lula said the power is out and she and grandma heard something outside the house."

"Tell her I'll have a couple of guys come out and do a walk-a-round."

I put the phone back up to my ear and went to tell her but she broke in with, "I heard. Just make sure that wacky big guy don't come or I might just let granny shoot him."

"You can't let grandma shoot him."

"Watch me."

The call disconnected. I turned to Ranger and winced, "Lula indicated it might not be safe for Tank to show up."

Ranger started shaking with laughter. I widened my eyes and Ranger pointed to the phone and mouthed 'Tank'. I waited for him to disconnect the call and then asked, "Did he hear what I said?"

Ranger nodded. "He decided he should be one of the guys going out after he heard what you said."

My eyes widened, "Lula's unpredictable at the best of times. I wouldn't put it past her to shoot him just for the hell of it."

"Tank can handle Lula Babe."

I had a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that something major was about to happen. I couldn't tell if it was something bad or something good. I just knew it was something big.

Lula's POV:

I tossed my cell phone back in my purse and then I went back to sit by granny. She looked up at me and asked, "Well?"

"Steph said Ranger was gonna have a couple guys come out ta check things out. We just gotta sit tight."

Just then the sound of something hitting something hard and glass shattering had us grabbing onta each other. Granny placed her purse on her lap between us and I saw she had a mini cannon in her purse. I had my purse close by but was hoping I didn't have to pull my gun out. The sounds of footsteps nearing had us shaking in our seats. I didn't know about granny but I was wishing those fellas from Rangeman would hurry up. We saw headlights cut across the room and as they did a black clad figure was highlighted. Granny didn't wait for an invitation as she reached in her bag and drew out her cannon. The black clad figure lifted an arm with a weapon in the hand and took aim. Granny didn't get the chance to fire as the black clad figure was hit from behind and crumpled to the ground. Then someone was shining a flashlight in our faces and asking if we was alright.

Next thing I know the lights are back on and I turn to see none other than King Kong standing before us with a masked figure on the floor in handcuffs. I stomped over and yanked the mask off our intruder and couldn't believe my eyes. What the fuck? Just then a shot rang out and King Kong took granny and I down on the sofa and covered us with his gun out and ready for use. When the second black clad figure walked in and looked at their partner there on the floor, they shot them and then turned the gun on us. King Kong acted with lightening reflexes and in seconds the shooter was a mass of dead tissue on the floor.

I nudged the body lying on us to let them know to get off but he didn't move. Finally I said, "Get off already! You're crushing us!"

He turned to me with a smile and said, "Well I was just making sure you can't get to your gun and make good on your threat."

I rolled my eyes and screeched. The idiot laughed as he got up and then helped both granny and I up. He took his phone out and made a call. It didn't take a genius to know who he was calling. I made no secret of the fact I was listening into his conversation.

"Yo Rangeman. Two intruders. Both dead." A pause for a couple of minutes and then, "No clue. However I think crazy ass might have an idea on the one."

He turned to me and narrowed his eyes before saying, "Hold on." He scowled at me and motioned to the dead body on the floor, "Who's that?"

"That's Chipotle Sauce Guy from the BBQ cook off granny and I are in."

He relayed the information and then grimaced, "Do I _have_ to?" Another pause and then he grimaced and sighed before saying, "Alright Rangeman. Tell Little Girl we'll watch over her granny."

King Kong put his phone away and motioned to the two bodies. "Vince, you stay with these two till the cops get here. I'll give Morelli a call and see if we can't get them out of here. You ladies might as well go on up to bed. Vince and I will be here tonight to make sure no one else bothers you."

Granny moved her dentures around in her mouth and said, "I can't sleep down here with two dead bodies."

I was about to tell granny she could bunk in with me when King Kong broke in and said, "Stephanie said for you to use her rooms for the night."

Granny grinned. "Hot damn! Does that mean I get Vince to guard my body tonight when he's done with the coppers?"

I hid a smile as Vince visibly paled and croaked, "Uh, gee ma'am, but Rangeman policy is one of us has to stay downstairs at all times and since Tank will be using the apartment Ranger has here, I'll be the downstairs guy."

Granny narrowed her eyes and demanded, "You aren't pulling my leg are you sonny? I could always call Stephanie and ask her to send out another fella to free you up."

"Uh gee, no thanks ma'am. No need to have them send out someone else."

"Drat! I was hoping to have company tonight."

The look on them two's faces was priceless. I thought about stirring the pot and cornering King Kong into the room with granny but one look at him and I knew I'd be taking my life in my own hands if I don that. I grinned at him ta let him know I was thinkin bout it.

While Vince stayed downstairs to wait for the cops, Tank led granny and I upstairs. We walked granny to where she'd be sleeping and then he walked me to my rooms. I opened the door and a man in a gorilla outfit jumped out at me. Tank had him cuffed and out like a light in no time flat. Then he carried him to the stairwell and called down to Vince. Next thing I knows he's tossing the sucker down the stairs. He strode back to me and pushed me aside. He checked out the rooms and then set me on the bed and told me to stay put till he got back.

I heard granny complaining and suddenly another person grunting and then what sounded like them going down the stairs. I snuck to the door in time to see Tank heading upstairs. There was a tussle and then a gunshot. Next thing I knows I see someone flying own the stairs and hitting the wall. Tank was right behind them, grabbed them and tossed them down to the first floor as well. He turned and our gazes locked. I backed up as he advanced until I was sitting on my bed and he was towering over me. He was one hot looking piece of man from where I was sitting and I licked my lips. Tank grabbed my arms and lifted me till we was looking in each other's eyes. His mouth crashed down on mine and that's the last coherent thought I had for the next several hours.

When I opened my eyes a few hours later, the first thing I saw was Tank looking at me with a heated look. I felt my juices flowing and returned his look with a smile. "Hey Big Boy. You ready for a repeat performance?"

His head lowered and he grinned, "Oh yeah Mama Bear. I'm more than ready."

His mouth covered mine and that was my last coherent thought for some time.

Tank's POV:

I had just finished texting Cal and Woody that they lucked out and I was otherwise occupied for the foreseeable future. They could meet me on the mats when I got back to Rangeman. I set my phone on the nightstand and saw Lula making signs that she was coming awake. I smiled as I thought of the plans I had for my Mama Bear for the next few hours. From the look in her eyes when she looked at me, she was more than ready for me.


	32. Deadly Information

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. __**Thank you RubyBabe for catching the typo. **__The BBQ contest referenced is from FLF. Although I am using the BBQ contest from the book, I've spun my own twist on what's going down._

Chapter 32: Deadly Information

Stephanie's POV:

The next morning Ranger and I made a trip out to my house to check on grandma and Lula. According to Vince not only were there the two original guys, but Tank found three more guys hiding out upstairs. Joe called early this morning and said that none of them were talking. The dead guy that had almost shot at Lula and grandma was Stanley Chipotle, and he was entered in the BBQ cook off that Lula and grandma had entered. The second dead guy was an unknown as were the other three guys that were in the house. No one was talking.

Ranger pulled up and we went inside the house. Grandma and Vince were seated at the table eating breakfast. Ranger looked around and then asked, "Where's Tank?"

Vince grinned and looked upstairs with his eyes. Ranger's eyebrow rose and he went to head upstairs but I grabbed hold of his arm and said, "Uh, why don't we wait down here for them to come down?"

Ranger's looked at me so I leaned in and quietly told him, "Lula isn't down here either. You willing to take a chance they aren't together?"

Ranger grinned, "Since you put it like that."

We joined grandma and Vince at the table. We had been there for maybe fifteen minutes when I heard a thud from upstairs followed by running feet and then a crash and a screech. A deep voice laughing along with feminine laughter. I did the best to ignore what was going on above us as did Ranger and Vince. Grandma on the other hand yelled at the ceiling, "If you two aren't down here in 20 minutes I'm coming up to join the party."

There was mad scrambling and the sound of running water. Nineteen minutes later Lula and Tank were hurrying into the dining room. Tank paused when he saw Ranger and me but then he grinned and joined us at the table. Ranger leaned in close to me and said, "Maybe I should hire your grandma to keep my men on their toes Babe. I've never seen Tank move so fast."

Tank grinned and leaned in close to Ranger, "You hire her, don't forget she'd have access to your ass to Rangeman."

I leaned in and whispered, "Nah. I already called dibs. Grandma knows Ranger's off limits. Your only hope is Lula not wanting to share and telling her you're on the endangered list too."

Tank's eyes brightened and he went over to sit down beside Lula.

I turned to Lula and let her know, "Morelli said none of the intruders are talking. You said the man who was going to take a shot at you was Stanley Chipotle? Any idea why he'd be taking a shot at you?"

Lula shook her head, "Only thing I can guess is it's something to do with the BBQ cook off. All the entrants had to take a sample of their sauce when they registered."

It still didn't make any sense. "Do you have more of what you gave them?"

Lula smiled, "I got it all. Granny and I already made the sauce. We figured we could take it the day of the cook off and cut down our cooking time."

"But don't you have to start from scratch on the day of the contest?" I asked.

Lula's eyes got big. "They never said no such thing."

I bit my lip, "Do you have the contest rules?"

Lula got up and went into the kitchen. I heard the fridge open and then a screech and Lula was running back into the dining room. "They done stole our sauce granny!"

Grandma Mazur banged her hand on the table and said, "Bastards!"

Lula handed me the contest rules and I read over them. I nodded when I got to the passage I wanted and pointed it out to Lula, "It says right here that all contestants have to bring sauce ingredients on day of contest and will create a from scratch sauce."

"Well damn. I never seen that before."

Grandma frowned, "Why would that fella want our sauce?"

Lula put her hands on her hips, "I'll tell you why granny. Our sauce is a kick ass sauce and that little feller knew he was gonna lose. Well I got the recipe right up here." Lula tapped the side of her head.

I rolled my eyes knowing it was probably a lost cause for them to try and recreate the sauce if they had to depend on Lula's memory. Grandma snorted and said, "I got it all written down. Now who do we tell about them trying to steal our sauce?"

Ranger took the contest rules and read through them, including the section that told what the first place prize would be. "One million dollars is a lot of money. If these characters figured they had the winning sauce in the bag then found out someone come up with something better than what they have, it might worry them."

Lula puffed up her chest, "Knew we had a winning sauce."

I frowned and asked, "Is it possible they thought Lula's sauce might beat theirs?"

Ranger nodded, "I'd say it's likely. We need to talk with the guys who broke in."

Ranger decided Tank and Vince should stay with grandma and Lula in case someone else tried something. We were heading to the contest headquarters to report the robbery. Lula and grandma were going to try and recreate their sauce. Tank's eyes widened at the mention of the BBQ sauce and I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry Big Guy. They gave you a rejected sauce the last time and made sure they had the good stuff."

Tank gave Lula a look and she smiled. "Don't you worry none Tankie. Nothin' but the best for you from now on."

I'm not sure whether Tank looked relieved or pained by her declaration. Ranger and I said our goodbyes and we headed to the headquarters for the contest. Of course there was a car pulling out as we drove in the lot and the spot Ranger pulled into was beside the door. I got out and met him in front of the Cayenne. We headed inside together. I stopped and asked the receptionist who was in charge of the contest. She directed us to an office on the third floor. The closer we got to the door, the more upset my stomach got. I had a bad feeling.

I turned to Ranger and whispered, "I'm getting a bad feeling."

Ranger knocked on the door but there was no answer. He knocked again and still no answer. I tried the door and it opened. I looked inside and then turned quickly and hid my head against Ranger. There were three dead bodies inside the room. Ranger fished out his cell phone and called Morelli. Then he led me over to one of the nearby chairs until Morelli could get there.

It was 15 minutes later when Morelli strolled over to us and stopped with his hands on his hips, "We have to stop meeting like this Cupcake."

I glared at Joe, "This wasn't my fault."

Joe shook his head and stepped closer to us, making sure to keep is voice down he said, "Something bad is going on. Contestants have been winding up dead all over town. You might want to put extra guards on your grandma and Lula. Of course who in their right mind would go near your grandma…"

I punched Morelli on the arm. "You better watch what you say about my grandma."

Joe went in and took a look inside the office. When he came back out he had his cop face on. He looked at Ranger and said, "If I were you I'd put a 24 hour watch on Lula and grandma Mazur. If Stephanie is going to get involved you might want to add her to the list. One of those guys in there is an undercover police officer. He thought he was close to finding out who was behind a major fraud scam. Looks like he might have gotten closer than he knew."

Joe took our statements since I was the one that actually found the bodies. We headed back to my house and Ranger must have seen how upset I was about how this would affect grandma and Lula because he reached out and took hold of my hand. "Don't worry Babe. I'm putting round the clock teams on both of them. Plus I can start staying on the third floor to help keep an eye on them."

I narrowed my eyes and said, "We can stay on the third floor. I have two open rooms you can have a couple of the guys move in if you like. I'll have grandma stay in my rooms for now so they're all on the same floor."

"Sounds good except you'll be in my apartment on 7 at Rangeman."

I turned to Ranger and smiled, "What makes you say that?"

His eyes narrowed, "Because that's the way it will be."

I rolled my eyes, "Do you want me to play nice with the guys and allow them to shadow me?"

"Babe."

I smiled, "Do you want me to stay safely in the Rangeman building when we are there?"

His eyes narrowed, "Babe."

I sighed, "Do you want me to keep the trackers and panic button?"

Ranger sighed, "_We'll_ stay on the third floor apartment."

I nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Although Ranger didn't say a word I had the feeling he was muttering in his mind. We headed back to Rangeman and Ranger went to his office and I went to my desk. Lester popped up as soon as I sat down and he whispered in an overly loud fashion, "Is it true Tank and Lula did the nasty?"

I glared at Les and lifted my head, "I wouldn't know. I try to stay out of my friends bedrooms."

Lester thought that was funny. He was just about to say something else when a big booming voice said, "Santos! Care to meet me on the mats?"

We turned to see Tank standing there with his arms folded across his chest. Les swallowed visibly and said, "Uh, I'd rather not Big Guy."

Tank leaned down close to Lester and said in a threatening tone, "Then I suggest you cease and desist or I will pummel you into the ground."

Les gave a weak smile, "Understood."

Tank went into Ranger's office and 20 minutes later they both came out and Ranger started motioning for certain members to join them in the conference room. I watched quietly to see if I'd be included. I was getting a tad worried when Ranger finally turned and motioned to me. I stood and went to the conference room. I noticed as I got closer that Ranger's expression was grim. Hmm. I wonder what he'd learned to put that look on his face.


	33. An Explosive Situation

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. __**Thank you RubyBabe for catching the typo. **__The BBQ contest referenced is from FLF. Although I am using the BBQ contest from the book, I've spun my own twist on what's going down._

Chapter 33: An Explosive Situation

Stephanie's POV:

I made my way into the conference room with the rest of the guys and slipped into the seat beside Ranger. He passed around a file of information from the guys that had been rounded up from my house. Stanley Chipotle was entered in the contest and was expected to win. The man who had shot him and then succumbed to Tank's bullet was an East Coast thug by the name of Henry Mulligan. He always worked with a guy out of Chicago known as Marco the Maniac. The Maniac was known for carrying a meat clever and was a butcher in his other life. Now that Mulligan was dead the hunt for Marco had escalated. The three other men Tank "found" were low level thugs form the Chicago side of the organization.

I learned the reason for the grim look was that Marco the Maniac was noted for collateral damage. In other words, he had a tendency to mess up and have to clean up more than initially hired for. Ranger was worried I might come in under collateral damage. He put plans in motion for Tank, Ram, Jeanne Ellen, and Lester to stay at the house with us. I was a little relieved to have the extra manpower safeguarding Grandma and Lula. Once the meeting was over I suggested I run out to the house and warn Grandma and Lula. Ranger agreed as long as I took Woody and Hal with me. I rolled my eyes and kissed Ranger before heading to the garage.

I exited the elevator to see Woody and Hal waiting for me. I swung up into the driver's seat and Woody took shotgun as Hal crawled into the back seat. I noticed Hal was fidgeting and I sent him a reassuring smile. If anything Hal looked even more nervous. I grinned to myself and headed towards my house. When I pulled up I noticed Lula's Firebird was parked out front. I turned the Cayenne off and got out, looking to see if the guys were following. Woody said he was going to do a walk around and Hal came in with me.

We entered the kitchen and Grandma and Lula were in their chef's clothes, except Lula was missing her hat. The sink was filled with dirty measuring cups, assorted utensils, bowls, and measuring spoons. There was a large pot hissing on the stove.

"What the heck is that? I asked Lula.

"I got my pressure cooker goin' here." Lula said. "I saw it advertised on QVC. It cuts cookin' time in half. Maybe more. And it preserves all the goodness of the food. It was real expensive on television, but I got this one off of Lenny Skulnik. It's good quality, too, because it was made in China."

"Are you sure it's supposed to make those noises?" I asked Lula. "And what about all that steam?"

"It's supposed to steam," Lula said. "It's why you call it a pressure cooker. And if you look close, you could see the pressure indicator is all red. That's the sign of good pressure cookin'. You wouldn't want no green shit on a pressure-cookin' indicator."

"Are you sure? Did you read the instructions?"

"This one didn't come with no instructions. This was the economy model."

The pot had gone beyond hissing and was now whistling a high keening wail. We-e-e-e-e-e-e-e. Red sauce was sputtering out of the steam hole and the pot was vibrating.

"Don't worry," Lula said. "It's just workin' itself up to maximum pressurizin'."

"It's a modern miracle," Grandma said.

I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I always worried when the little bulb at the top of anything went red. And I recognized the sound the pot was making. I felt like that sometimes and it never ended well.

"Maybe you should turn the heat down a little," I said to Lula.

"I guess I could do that," Lula said. "It must almost be done. We've been cooking it for over an hour."

Lula reached for the knob on the stove and at that exact moment there was a _popping_ sound and the two latches flew off the lid.

"Holy cats," Lula said.

"She's gonna blow!" Grandma yelled. "Run for your life!"

Lula and Grandma and I turned tail and bolted. And the lid exploded off the pot. BANG! The lid hit the ceiling like it had been launched from a rocket, and barbecue sauce was thrown onto every exposed surface. There was a hole in the ceiling where the lid had impacted, and sauce dripped from the ceiling and slimed down the cabinets.

"Guess we aren't having barbecue for dinner tonight," Grandma said, creeping back to the stove to look in the pot.

Lula swiped at some of the sauce on the counter and tasted it. "Not exactly right yet, anyways."

Grandma and Lula started talking about getting some Cluck-in-a Bucket for dinner.

"What about my kitchen?" I asked Lula.

"What about it?"

"It's a mess."

Lula glanced at the kitchen. "Yah, it don't look too good. You're gonna have to use one of them degreasers on it."

"I'm not cleaning this kitchen."

"Well, somebody gotta do it," Lula said.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "That would be you."

"Hunh," Lula said. "In my opinion, that pot manufacturer should be responsible for the cleanup. I got a faulty pot."

"The manufacturer in China?" I asked her.

"Yeah. That's the one. I'm gonna tell Lenny Skulnik he needs to get in touch with them."

"And you think they're going to send someone from China to clean my kitchen?"

"I see your point," Lula said. "I guess I could do some cleaning, but I'd need a stepladder. Or else I'd need a big strong Rangeman to help me out." (pg.140-144 FLF with an exchange of Rangeman for fireman)

I saw Hal's face out of the corner of my eye and it was all I could do not to laugh at the look of horror on his face. He ducked out of the kitchen before I could say anything. I turned to Lula and Grandma and we all burst out laughing. I said to Lula, "You know they'll all be forewarned by the guys on monitors."

Lula got a sudden gleam in her eyes and I asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Well, Tankie said he needed to teach some of them Rangemen a thing or two and I was thinkin' maybe he could help us out at the same time. I mean, they could meet Tankie on the mats or they could help us clean up the kitchen."

My phone rang at that moment and I fished it out of my purse. I connected the call saying, "Hello?"

"Don't be giving Tank any ideas. I have no desire to clean your kitchen."

"Woody? I thought you were walking around outside."

"I was until Hal came to get me to look at the mess in your kitchen. Good thing too because I heard the two of you plotting against Cal and me."

"I wasn't doing any plotting." I narrowed my eyes.

"Maybe not but you won't see me cleaning your kitchen."

"Just a minute." I took the phone from my ear and turned to Grandma. "How would you feel about giving some of the guys free passes from being bothered if they agree to help us clean the kitchen?"

Grandma sighed, then she looked around the kitchen, "Well, I already can't grab Ranger cause you laid your claim and earlier Lula told me the Big Guy is off limits. I guess if you got a couple of strong young men to help us get this kitchen cleaned I'd be willing to give them up as well. As far as the rest goes all bets are off though."

I nodded, "Agreed."

I put the phone to my ear. "Did you hear that Woody? Grandma is willing to give free passes to the guys who help us clean up the kitchen. You saw what she did to Hal…"

Woody laughed in my ear, "I don't plan on getting close enough to your Grandma to make it an issue."

I paused before pointing out, "You're here today. Just ask Hal what he thinks."

I disconnected the call and within 5 minutes Woody and Hal were in the kitchen asking where they could get started. My eyes widened, "I thought you weren't interested."

Hal looked at Grandma and said, "You made us an offer we couldn't refuse."

I left them to head upstairs and move as much of my stuff to the 3rd floor as possible. I checked all over to make sure the intruders didn't do any damage. For some reason whenever I got to Lula's room I felt goosebumps all over. I went back to my room and called downstairs. Lula answered and I asked her to put Woody on the phone. When Woody asked what was up I told him I had a bad feeling whenever I went near Lula's room. He told me to stay put and in seconds Woody and Hal were outside Lula's room with their guns drawn.

Woody opened the door and the two of them made their way into the room slowly, making no noise. After several seconds there was a gunshot and then a black clad figure was running out of Lula's room with a meat clever in his hands. I stepped into the hallway and took my stance, bringing up my gun and taking aim. I pulled the hammer back and the man with the clever turned to me and drew back the clever. I fired my gun and he let go of the clever and ran down the stairs and out the front door. Woody and Hal came running out of Lula's room and Hal was limping. Woody took off downstairs telling me to get pressure on Hal's wound and call Rangeman for backup.

I got Hal to sit down at the top of the stairs and applied the pressure as Woody directed. I fished my cell phone out and called Ranger. He answered with his standard, "Yo."

"Ranger, this is Stephanie. Hal's been shot and we need backup at my house. I think it's Marco the Maniac. He had a big meat clever. I fired and he dropped the clever and ran off."

Ranger didn't waste time on asking questions. He just said, "We're on our way Babe."

I tossed the phone back in my purse and turned to Hal. He was looking a little pale and I tried a joke to get his mind off the pain I knew he must be feeling. "Some people will try anything to get out of a little cleaning."


	34. Cleaning Up

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

_**Thanks to Vanessa Loor for translating my English into Spanish. Any mistakes are mine alone.**_

Chapter 34: Cleaning Up

Stephanie's POV:

It had only been about 10 minutes before Woody came back and said he had lost the intruder in the woods. He thought the guy had a vehicle because he'd heard a motor catch. I told him Ranger was on the way. The blood was still seeping from Hal's leg so Woody took over in applying pressure. I made a quick trip to wash the blood off my hands and grab some clean towels and stuff. When I returned Bobby was running up the stairs to check on Hal and Ranger was right behind him.

Bobby took one look at the wound in Hal's leg and said they'd have to transport him to the hospital. About that time Tank came into view behind Ranger and between the two of them they got Hal to one of the SUV's. Woody volunteered to go along to drive but Tank grinned and told him he'd handle that chore since Woody had a mess to clean up. Ranger raised an eyebrow and motioned for Woody to get going. Woody sighed and stood, grumbling about some people having all the luck in getting shot.

Once Tank was on his way to the hospital with Hal and Bobby, Ranger turned to me and pulled me into his arms. I looked up into his face and winced at the serious look on his face. "You want to tell me what happened?"

Although it _sounded_ like a question, I knew there was no chance of answering with a no. I leaned my forehead against Ranger's chest and said, "I went upstairs to move some of my things to the third floor and I thought I'd walk through the other rooms to make sure the intruders from the other night didn't take anything or leave any surprises. Every time I got to Lula's door I got a bad feeling. I called downstairs and had Woody and Hal come up and then Hal got shot and the guy came out with a meat clever. I lifted my gun and took aim and he dropped the clever and took off. Then Woody took off after him and told me to put pressure on Hal's leg cause Hal had been shot."

Ranger wrapped me in his arms and I was vaguely aware of the silent shaking of his body. I peeked up at him and took note of the fact he had his blank face on but he was clearly laughing. I smacked him playfully and he wrapped me in his arms. I continued, "I think it was Marco the Maniac."

"From what you said I think you're right Babe."

"So, got any plans for the rest of the day Batman?"

Ranger looked down at me and his eyes heated. I felt an answering desire in my own eyes. Ranger leaned down and lifted me in his arms and quickly strode towards the house and up the stairs to the third floor apartment. In no time we were both naked and doing a Tango on the sheets. When I finally opened my eyes, it was to see Ranger dressed and coming back to the bed to sit.

He gave the almost smile and said, "I was just going to wake you Babe. I need to run back into town for a meeting."

I had a feeling like I had touched a live wire, "Who's this meeting with?"

Ranger just continued to look at me for several moments. I was determined to out wait him, but I was close to caving when he finally said, "Morelli called me. The three they had in lockup made bail. He got a load of info after they had already left."

I bit my lip, "It's bad isn't it?"

Ranger gave a slight nod of his head. He leaned over and kissed me. "Don't worry Babe. Ram, Jeanne Ellen and Lester are all here and Tank and I will return soon."

"Don't get shot Batman."

He gave a little smile, "Don't go crazy Babe."

He kissed me once more and then headed out.

Woody's POV:

I couldn't believe what a mess the kitchen was. There was BBQ sauce everywhere. Although Stephanie's Grandma was a big help in the cleanup, having Lula help was like letting loose a bull in a China shop. The woman didn't have clue one on how to clean. What she was good at was dealing with the stuff that had to get cleaned and then taking care of the cleaned things. I put her in charge of organizing and Grandma and I got down to cleaning.

True to her word, Mrs. Mazur never once bothered me. I smiled, and to think I was the only Rangeman safe from her besides Ranger and Tank. I wasn't sure if Hal would be considered safe since he didn't do much cleaning before he got shot. We spent the majority of the afternoon cleaning and got most of the sauce taken care of. There were only a few small places we still needed to work on when Ranger stepped into the kitchen.

I stepped over so I could talk quietly to Ranger. He told me about Morelli calling him and the guys were on the loose again. I told him I'd be on alert and he just gave me the once over and shook his head before he went out the door. I looked down at myself and could fell my face turn red. I was wearing a girlie apron that said, 'One HOT Mama'. I hung my head and knew I'd never live this down.

Ranger's POV:

I stopped in the kitchen to tell Woody I was headed into Trenton and he said he'd be on alert. I gave him a once over, noting the girlie apron with 'One HOT Mama' on the front. I thought to myself, 'Right. You just more than convey a competent security expert.' I just shook my head and headed out the door. It took no time at all to reach the meeting place. Morelli was sitting in his Jeep Cherokee. I slid out of the Turbo and walked around to lean against the car. I folded my arms and glared at Morelli.

We had this shit down to a science. Only way to work together without making it look like you were working together. I growled at him, "What's your beef this time?" My cue for him to let me know what he had to tell me.

Morelli climbed out of his jeep and acted the big bad tough cop, "Those three trouble makers you have need to back off before they get themselves into trouble. This is the last warning." That was Morelli speak for the three men that we sent to jail were out. I knew that but Morelli was a stickler for how this went down. I think he was afraid he might not understand our made up dialogue if we detoured from the norm.

I smirked at Morelli and stood giving my best impression of the big bad ass bounty hunting mercenary, "Yeah well you crowd us too much and you might find yourself a casualty." This was my way of telling Morelli I was willing to take them out if they came after me or mine again.

Morelli stepped in closer, "You keep those animals on a leash or they'll be dealing with me." Again, Morelli was telling me if we acted it had to be above board because he was the officer on deck and he wanted no questions that this was all above board.

I grinned, "Maybe I should send one of my men to come hold your hand." What I was actually telling Morelli was that if one of my men acted it wouldn't be challenged by the time he had to deal with it.

Morelli stepped closer and leaned in. His voice was barely a whisper as he said, "We have an APB out for Marco. This guy is stupid but he's still giving us the slip. The problem with him keeping on trying is he might accidentally get lucky. The other three Bozo's are still around town, I'm sure of it. They each have felony murders on their records." Morelli backed up and glared, "Make sure you heed the warning Manoso." Yup! Morelli was hoping we would do his work for him and make him look good in the deal.

I shook my head and turned. By not responding I was letting Morelli know I heard what he said and I would make sure Marco the Maniac or his friends didn't get lucky in regards to Stephanie, her Grandma or Lula. I went around and slid into the Turbo. I had my phone out and connecting to Rangeman before I left the parking lot.

Junior's, "Yo." came over the phone.

"Get me Hector."

Seconds later Hector was on the phone asking, "Que puedo hacer por ti mi amigo?" (_What can I do for you my friend?_)

I told him, "Quiero que encuentren a Marco el Maniatico. No voy a correr el riesgo de que tenga suerte y vaya a herir a Stephanie, su abuela o a Lula." (_I want Marco the Maniac found. I'm not taking a chance that he might get lucky and hurt Stephanie, her grandma or Lula._)

Hector's only answer was, "Si. Yo te lo consigo." (_Yes. I get him for you._)

I headed back to Stephanie's determined to make sure no one hurt my Babe or the people close to her.

Stephanie's POV:

I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. I had to give Woody credit, he was doing an awesome job working with grandma to clean up the kitchen. I noticed Lula was taking on a supervisory role in the cleanup. I Stopped beside her and asked, "So when is this cook off supposed to happen?"

Lula sighed, "We gotta get all set up day after tomorrow and then the competition is the next day."

"Is there a reason you decided not to go with the sauce you already had down?"

"Somebody stole it! I don't want ta be accused of being a copycat."

"But if you have the recipe…."

"Girl, you think they gonna take time to see who has recipes?"

I shrugged. Lula shook her head and continued, "No way. We gonna have a better kick ass recipe already so when the judges try that ole lame sauce they'll be telling them to go back to the drawing board and then they be wishing they come up with a new sauce stead of trying to steal ours."

I nodded, "Sounds reasonable. So you need some help with the set up?"

"Oh yeah. Maybe Woody would be our muscle to get things done."

"Can't hurt to ask him."

As if he'd heard our conversation Woody turned and gave us a stern look. Grandma chuckled and patted his back. "Sonny, how about you give me the name of someone you'd like me to work over especially well and I'll work on giving them a day of hell in exchange for you being our muscle for the cook off."

There was a sudden gleam in Woody's eyes. I thought I should clarify, "Ranger and Tank are off limits."

When the gleam stayed I knew we were in trouble. "I have been wanting to pay Les back for a prank he played on me a few months ago but I have never gotten the chance. I'm sure he thinks I've forgotten all about it, but I haven't. I just wanted to make sure I could get him back good before doing anything. So alright. I'll be your muscle for the cook off if you can get Lester."

Oh Shit! I smiled weakly, "Lester will be staying in one of the spare rooms until Marco is caught."

Grandma smiled, "That should give me at least a night or two to get him for you."

Grandma and Woody shook hands. Lula and I looked at each other and smiled. This was going to be good.


	35. Lester Santos vs Grandma Mazur

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 35: Lester Santos vs Grandma Mazur

Lester's POV:

When I got tagged to stay in one of the rooms at Stephanie's house my first thought was I wanted no part of the grandmother from hell. I tried to slide out of the assignment but unfortunately I'd pissed off the Big Guy one too many times and he wouldn't approve any of the guys I'd bribed to take my place. So not only was I out what I'd bribed the guys with to be willing to take my place, but I was also having to spend the next two nights at the least in the vicinity of Grandmazilla. I packed extra clothes Justin case Grandma got scissor happy. After what I'd seen poor Hal go through I wanted to be prepared.

When Stephanie called to say there had been an intruder, both Ranger and Tank had been pissed. On the way out I'd voiced the question wondering how the intruders were getting in. I mean this was a Rangeman protected house and these Bozos were making us look bad. Ranger's comment was that he wanted me working on that very question. It was now my job to find out how they were getting in. I closed my eyes and thought to myself, 'That's right Lester, open your mouth and volunteer again. That's what has you in Grandmazilla's sights in the first place.'

When we pulled up Ranger and Bobby headed to the house right away with Tank close behind. Ram, Jeanne Ellen and I started carrying our gear inside. When I saw Ranger and Tank go by with Hal I hoped he was going to be okay. As much as all the guys liked to tease each other, when one of us was hurt we circled the wagons and made sure we had each other's backs. Once we had all the stuff brought in, I started checking the sensors, cameras and other equipment we had placed in Stephanie's house. I couldn't find anything to tell me how these guys were getting in.

After my walk through, I carried my stuff up to the room where I would be staying. Stephanie had given me a key as well as giving one to Ram and Jeanne Ellen. I got everything all situated and decided to take a quick shower to wash off the grime of the day. I had just gotten my hair all lathered up when I felt a draft. I quickly put my head under the water and rinsed out the shampoo before opening my eyes and looking around. I was surprised to see the bathroom door open when I knew I had closed it. I grabbed a towel and quickly went through to the bedroom. The door leading to the hallway was just closing and I hurried through to the next door and yanked it hard to open the door and hopefully catch the intruder. The only problem with that is the door was locked and I lost precious seconds unlocking the door and trying to open it again.

I walked out into the hallway to look around, not paying attention to the door closing behind me, but there was no one visible. I had no clue who had been in my room, but yet I knew someone had been. I went to go back into my room and found the door was locked and the key was on the other side. Shit! I didn't have anything on me but a towel and that sure as hell wasn't going to get me inside the room. I looked around the hallway hoping to find something I could pick the lock with. I was so intent on what I was doing that I didn't hear the creak of footsteps coming up behind me. I was leaning forwards looking at a display on a table in the hallway when a bony hand pinched my ass and I jumped.

I swung around to see Grandmazilla smiling at me as she pushed her dentures around in her mouth. She winked at me and asked, "Something wrong Sonny?"

I ran a hand through my hair and blew out a breath. "I locked myself out of my room."

She waggled her eyes and made a smacking sound with her lips, "I'll get you a spare key if you give me a look see."

I gulped. There was no way I wanted to let her have a look at the family jewels, yet I had no way of getting into my room without _something_ I could use to flip the lock. She took a step closer and I scrambled to stay out of arms reach. About that time Ram and Jeanne Ellen came up the stairs carrying their stuff and I let out a sigh of relief. Jeanne Ellen's eyes widened when she got a look at me and she stopped in her tracks. Ram turned to see what she was looking at and there was a gleam in his eyes.

Ram raised an eyebrow and asked, "Lock yourself out of your room Santos?"

I grinned, "As a matter of fact I did. I can't find anything to pop the lock. Care to give me a hand?"

Ram and Jeanne Ellen set their things down and then clapped their hands together several times. I glared at them and said, "Come on guys, you know what I meant."

Jeanne Ellen looked from me to Grandmazilla and then back. She shook her head, "Sorry Les. She has you fair and square. Besides, if I don't help you she'll leave Ram alone."

My eyes widened. I looked from their smiling faces to Grandma and back. Shit! I was in serious trouble here. I decided there was nothing for it and I took off down the stairs. There had to be something in the house I could use to get into my room. I was searching through anything I could find but there were no sharp objects to be found. Then I realized I should head to the kitchen. I had just opened one of the drawers when Grandma made her way into the room. She chuckled and I could swear I heard her say 'This is gonna be fun' as she made her way into the room.

I finally found a paper clip and carefully maneuvered my way through the kitchen so as to stay away from her. I dashed back up the stairs but on the way I stumbled on some type of string and went sprawling on my ass with my legs up in the air and my business showing for anybody to see. I saw a flash and heard a snap as if someone had taken a picture. Damn! I sat up and covered myself the best I could. Sure enough, Grandmazilla was standing there with a camera and a mile wide grin. I sighed. I was never going to live that down. Maybe if I could get her in a similarly compromising position we could do some picture swapping.

I pulled myself up and headed upstairs with as much dignity as I could muster. I was halfway up the stairs when Stephanie started down the stairs. When she saw me she stopped and her eyes got huge. "Lester, you can't go around like that with Grandma in the house."

I scowled, "You're telling _me_? I locked myself out and there is nothing sharp around here to pop the lock. I had to go to the kitchen to find a paperclip. Now if you'll excuse me I plan on tripping the lock so I can get back into my room."

"You don't want to try and trip the lock…"

I ignored her and stomped up the rest of the stairs and made my way to my door. I squatted down and started working the lock. I heard the telltale click that said the lock had been popped when I finally registered what Stephanie was trying to tell me. I leaned my forehead against the door and prayed the guys back at Rangeman wouldn't be watching me returning to my room in just a towel. I felt a slight tug on the towel but paid it no attention. Instead I was focused on getting into my room with as much dignity as I could manage. I stood and raised my head with as much dignity as I could muster. I opened the door and headed into the room. As I did so I felt the towel slide down and glanced down to see I was displaying my birthday suit for anyone watching. _SHIT!_

I grabbed another towel out of the bathroom to make sure I was dry. Then I went over to my suitcase and pulled out a pair of black cargo pants, black fitted t-shirt, socks and work boots. Once I was dressed I pocketed the key and strapped on my utility belt. I locked the door and headed back downstairs. As I neared the bottom of the stairs, Grandmazilla came through from the kitchen and called, "Dinner's on the table. Come and get it before it dries out!"

I shook my head and made my way through to the dining room. The dining room table was a long rectangular one. Ranger was seated at one end and Tank was at the other end. Stephanie was beside Ranger and Lula was beside Tank. Woody was opposite Lula and Bobby was opposite Stephanie. Ram and Jeanne Ellen were seated between Stephanie and Lula which left room for Grandma and me between Bobby and Woody. Grandma was seated beside Woody. I sighed and took the only seat I could. I had no more than gotten sat when I felt a bony hand on my family jewels and I jumped slightly and swore. Ranger gave me a stern look and I bit my cheek to stop the rest of the words from flying out.

The food was right up there with Ella's as being the best I had tasted. I was glad we weren't having BBQ after the trouble Bobby and Tank had with that. Instead we were having roasted chicken, steamed veggies and a German style potato salad. The food was excellent, I just wished Stephanie wasn't so vocal in her enjoyment of the meal because it was putting a part of me in greater jeopardy than I would have liked. By the grin on Grandmazilla's face, she was aware of that fact all too well. She got up and went to the kitchen, bringing back a delicious looking Boston Cream Pie. She set it on the table and then sorta fell into my lap. Her eyes went wide when she fell against my lap and I had to bite my cheek once again so as not to say something that was going to get me in trouble.

I helped Grandma to sit back in her own seat and helped myself to a piece of the dessert. It was delicious and I enjoyed every bite. Once we were done eating, the women cleared the table and I mentioned that I was going to have a look around outside. Ranger asked me if I had figured out anything in regards to how the intruders had gotten in. I told him not yet but I was still working on it. I slipped outside and walked around the perimeter of the house. A couple different times I had the feeling of being watched so I was on hyper-alert. Eventually I decided to head on back to the house and silently made my way upstairs.

I turned to head to my room and there was Grandma. She squeaked and threw her hands up before saying, "Make some noise why don't you!?"

I frowned and asked, "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I thought I heard a noise."

"I just did a perimeter walk and didn't see anything. I'm sure you're safe."

"Uh huh. And I'm just supposed to take your word for it I suppose?"

I frowned, "I would never take your safety lightly ma'am."

"Prove it! You come take a look at my room and make sure there are no bad guys in there."

Crap! If I refused and she was hurt somehow I'd be at fault. On the other hand she was sneaky and I wouldn't put anything past her. I decided to humor her so we could both get some sleep and walked her to her room. "You stay here by the door and I'll take a look around."

Not waiting to see if she was listening, I entered the room. I had checked everything and was nearing the bed when I felt something touch my arm and then it was lights out.

Grandma Mazur's POV:

I waited till Lester had searched the room and was close to the bed before I snuck in and placed the stun gun against his arm. I hit the juice and smiled as Lester fell right onto my bed. I tried lifting his legs to place them on the bed but this fella weighed more than I thought. I worked my dentures around in my mouth and decided it would be easier to get his clothes off if his legs were over the side of the bed. I reached over to undo the pants and couldn't get a good hold. Well darn! I shuffled over to my night stand and got out my scissors. I cut the suckers off him and then took off his shoes and socks. I debated on the t-shirt but there was no way to get it off except to cut it off. I got distracted by the view south of the border several times and felt the drool at the corner of my mouth.

Once I had the young buck naked as the day he came into the world I once again tried to lift his legs. I had a little more success lifting them one at a time. I adjusted my nightie and climbed in on my side. I checked the clock and smiled as I noticed I had managed to get everything done before the deadline. I heard the key in the lock and then the door opened and the light was switched on at the exact moment that young Lester started to come around. I planted my lips against his and the flash of a camera going off told me we had exacted the revenge Woody wanted. I sat up and took another look at his impressive package and my mouth opened as I noticed how_ big_ he had gotten since I'd gotten him in bed. My dentures fell out and tumbled coming to rest so it looked like they were trying to eat his winkie.

I turned to my partner in crime and whispered, "Damn! I gotta get them bronzed!"

I heard Woody's laughter as he shut out the light and locked the door. By now Lester was starting to move around some more so I lay back on the bed and tried to feign sleep. I had the biggest smile on my face. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing when Lester squeaked like a little girl and started mumbling to himself. As if I'd choreographed it I fell into him and snuggled closer. I mumbled loud enough for him to hear, "Ready to go again Big Boy?"

I heard a thud as Lester scrambled from the bed so fast he fell out onto the floor. When he realized he was naked he grabbed the comforter and tried to make a run for it. His feet must have gotten tangled in the comforter though because there was another thud and then scrambling and the door slamming. Of course he didn't have the key to get into his room because I had that right here with me. Suddenly there was the screeching of an alarm going off and I thought I heard Lester calling out, "Don't shoot, it's just me."

Tank's booming voice demanded, "Santos what are you doing running around in a comforter?"

Woody's slow southern drawl was heard next saying, "He was taking advantage of Stephanie's Grandma and I got the proof."

There was a terrible thud and finally Tank was saying, "Enough! People are trying to sleep. You wake Stephanie and Ranger will have all our asses hung out to dry!"

I smiled, turned over and went to sleep.


	36. Paybacks a Bitch

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 36: Paybacks a Bitch

Woody's POV:

I opened my eyes and blinked several times to try and make sense of what I was seeing. I shot upright in the bed, or tried to, and looked around with widened eyes. SHIT! Damn that Lester! I turned and tried to work myself free but it was no use. I was lying in a bed in the middle of the hallway stark naked with my hands handcuffed to the bedposts and my ankles were shackled as well. What was worse is I could hear the sounds of people starting to stir and I knew this hallway would be crowded with people at any moment.

I heard a muffled, "Help me! Get me out a here!"

I tried once again to get free but I had nothing available to pick the lock. I sighed, knowing who I had to thank for this. I smiled as I thought about the pictures I had from last night and what I was planning to do with them. After this stunt, Lester would be lucky if every Rangeman office didn't get a set to pass around. Just then who should walk down from the third floor but Stephanie. She stopped on seeing me au-natural and her eyes got huge. Her face turned bright red and she turned and ran back up the stairs. I vaguely heard the sound of laughter and closed my eyes as I pictured her telling Ranger about the sight that met her eyes.

As if to add insult to injury another door opened and then there was a sputtering and a voice I knew belonged only to Lula exclaiming, "Tankie, get yo ass over here and see what those fools are playin' at now."

I closed my eyes as I heard the heavier footstep of Tank coming into the hall. His shadow fell over me and I looked up with a resigned grimace. Tank smiled and turned around and headed back to join Lula. When he closed the door my eyes widened and I groaned. Come on man! Somebody had to help me out of this. About then Ram and Jeanne Ellen's door opened and Jeanne Ellen screamed as she got a look at me. I would have loved to have pled my case with someone, but the joker that put me here duck taped my mouth shut.

Ram struggled not to react but lost it and was laughing hysterically for a Rangeman. I glared but all it did was make the bastard laugh all the harder. Just about the time Jeanne Ellen got Ram back into their room Les's door opened and he sauntered out. He smiled and his eyes widened. He looked around and then scratched his head. I glared at him but all he did was bend over to look under the bed.

I saw his shoulders start to shake at the same time I heard a pleading voice cry out, "Help me! Get me out a here!"

My eyes widened and I wondered where that voice was coming from. Les sat down on the floor and folded his hands under his chin and grinned, "I don't know. I kinda like how everyone is positioned right now."

Again the muffled voice, "But I'm old and you'll give me a heart attack."

Lester chuckled, "What about what you did to me last night? Did you think about my poor weak heart then?"

I could swear I felt the steam rising from under the bed as the muffled voice once more spoke saying, "Stephanie won't like it if she finds out you are playing cruel jokes on me."

Les nodded, "You got me there Grandmazilla."

For several seconds there was complete silence and then from beneath me I heard laughter. "You're a fine one to talk Lestinator."

I could see Les smile at the reference to the Terminator. "I'll make a deal with you Granny."

I heard the sigh, "What's the deal?"

"You put me on your endangered species list and I'll get you out of there."

There was a pause. "And if I say no?"

Lester smiled, "Then I can think of lots more places to put you. Of course if I forget where I have you stashed it could take days before someone finds you. Remember, I work for Ranger so I'm one of the best."

"Yeah well you're not so good about keeping those intruders out."

"I'm working on that one. So do we have a deal?"

"What about Woody?"

"Do you care?"

A pause, "Well, I guess he's a big boy and can take care of himself."

Lester laughed and my eyes narrowed. All I could do was think to myself, 'When I get out of this Lester you are so dead.' Grandma's voice seemed much weaker suddenly and she coughed. Then I heard the wheezing and had a feeling something was going on.

Les's eyes narrowed and he asked, "You okay Granny?"

The wheezing got worse and there was no answer. I could see Lester sweating now. If anything happened to the old lady Stephanie would rip Lester a new one. Lester leaned in to try and reach Grandma but she was in a spot he couldn't reach the way he was going about it. The only way he was going to get to her was if he let me loose and lifted the mattress. Once Lester realized that he lost no time in setting me free. I wrapped the sheet around me and called for Stephanie. Les sent me a horrified glance and worked all the harder at getting Granny out from under the bed. Stephanie came running down the stairs to see what was going on and Ranger was right behind her. Not only that but Tank and Lula came out of their room and Ram and Jeanne Ellen came out of theirs too. Lester was working frantically to free grandma and I had to admit she looked pretty pale.

When Stephanie saw where her Grandma was she put her hands on her hips and declared, "Lester Santos you went too far. Anything happens to my Grandma and you will answer to me buster!"

By now Les had Grandma free of the ropes that had her tied to the bed. At just that moment Bobby topped the stairs and hurried over. He checked Grandma over and shook his head. He looked up at Les and said, "We need to get her to the hospital. She's having a heart attack."

Les's face went white and I kinda felt sorry for the bastard. Here he was just trying to get a little of his own back and everything backfired on him. Ranger grabbed Stephanie who went to lunge at Les before narrowing his eyes and saying in a deadly soft tone, "Santos! You better pray she pulls through. Get your ass downstairs and get the Cayenne ready to roll."

Lester lost no time in flying down the stairs and out the front door. At the sound of a splash, everyone around me started smiling and laughing. I about freaked myself when Grandma opened her eyes and winked at Ranger. Ranger turned to me, "No more pranking."

I wasn't stupid. "No sir."

Ranger indicated the bed, "You and Santos get that back where it belongs."

"Yes sir."

They all went downstairs and a few minutes later a totally soaked Lester came upstairs. Without a word we moved the bed back where it came from and cleaned everything up. I asked Les, "Uh, can you tell me where my clothes are?"

Les glared at me, "I could, but I don't feel like it."

I narrowed my eyes and was going to say something when Ram came back upstairs with a bundle that looked like my clothes. Unfortunately they were soaked. I grimaced but figured it wouldn't hurt to wear them back to Rangeman. I sighed and went into get dressed.

Stephanie's POV:

I wasn't sure what woke me but I grabbed my gun from the night stand and silently as possible I made my way down to the second floor. I saw Lester setting up the bed and then watched as he got Grandma and tied her to the underside of the bed before getting Woody and stripping him down and attaching him to the bed. I waited till he went back to his own room before creeping forward and asking Grandma how she wanted to get him back. When she told me the plan I had to admit it was brilliant! I slipped back upstairs and got Ranger to help me set things in motion.

Once we had everything ready, I made sure Grandma was comfortable before we headed back for the third floor. I set the alarm early enough so Grandma wouldn't be too uncomfortable. I knew I would set things in motion. I headed downstairs and upon seeing Woody in all his glory I headed back upstairs laughing. I had made sure to call everyone and tell them what was happening and what we were planning. Plus I called Rangeman and asked Bobby to come out and play his part. When Woody called my name I knew Grandma had set events in motion and I headed down to do my part.

I almost felt sorry for Les when I saw how he reacted to Grandma being in distress. I knew this was for his own good, but I felt bad about this plan seeing how it affected Les. Of course, what Grandma and Woody did the night before was pretty bad too. I was hoping this would take care of Lester's penchant for pranks. Of course Ranger intended to let the guys know the pranks stopped here. Now I just had to get Grandma to behave. I sighed. Talk about the impossible.

Ranger had set it up so as soon as Lester went through the front door he would be soaked. As soon as we heard the splash we knew Lester had his first clue this was a put up job. Ranger let Woody know in no uncertain terms that the pranks stopped now. I helped Grandma to her room where she cleaned up and got dressed before joining the rest of us downstairs. I was the first one to the kitchen and even though I didn't do it often I got the ingredients out to make breakfast. I almost had everything set up when I noticed something odd as I looked at the ceiling on the back entry where our keypad was situated. I went over to get a closer look. Grandma came in while I was checking it out.

"What you looking at Baby Girl?"

"It looks like the paint is chipped up there."

"Maybe that workman did it the other day when he was here."

"What workman Grandma?"

"Don't know who he was. He was wearing the black uniform with Rangeman on the shirt so I let him in."

"What day was that?"

"The day before those yahoos broke in and that Chipotle guy bought the farm."

I left Grandma in the kitchen to get breakfast while I went into the dining room to tell Ranger I might know how the intruders got in. The others were all sitting around chatting and I went over and threw my arms around Ranger's neck. I leaned in and whispered, "I think I know how the intruders got in."

To say I had the guy's attention was putting it mildly. "How Babe?" Ranger asked.

"Grandma said there was a worker here the day before those guys broke in. I noticed some chipped paint in the back entry. I think they put up a camera to get the code from the keypad."

All the guys gave me a funny look and they made their way to the back entry to check it out. Ranger had his phone out and was calling into Rangeman. He said he wanted a team out here ASAP. Once he put the phone away he gave me the almost smile and said, "Proud of you Babe. You never disappoint."

_WOW! This is a 3 chapter day! How about that?_


	37. A Surprise in the Basement

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

_**Special thanks for trhodes9 for her comment in a review. It was the spark that led to this chapter. **__The Battle of Trenton took place in 1776 and the four listed in the chapter were indeed in the battle on the side of Britain and all four died. (Grothausen was there but not sure he was one of the 4 in charge) Info googled from Wikipedia. I put my own twist on what happened to them after the battle though. At the time of the battle __Trenton was a small town with about 100 houses and two main streets, King (now Warren) Street and Queen (now Broad)._

Chapter 37: A Surprise in the Basement

Stephanie's POV:

Within 30 minutes Ranger had a team of men out and they had dusted for fingerprints and gone over every inch of the house. I noticed the men worked in pairs and none of them came within 2 feet of Grandma. At first I was puzzled by this but then I stopped Manny and asked him why the wide berth for Grandma. Manny looked at me like I was delusional and replied, "Are you insane? You think any of us want to wind up naked in bed with your granny?" And then he shook his head as he walked away.

I had to smile at his reaction. So, the guys had already seen the pictures from last night. I shook my head. Poor Les. He was never going to live this down. I smiled and grabbed a box of old canning jars. I figured I would take them down to the basement and store them on one of the shelves. I flipped the switch as I went down into the basement. I found a spot on one of the shelves in the basement and set the box of canning jars on it. As I did so the wall behind the shelves moved slightly. My eyes widened and I went over to take a closer look. There was definitely air between the wall, as if a section had moved to indicate an opening. I bit my lip and debated going ahead and checking it out or going back upstairs to get a couple of the guys to help. Chances of my running into bad guys with so many Rangemen here would be low so I figured I might as well see if I could open the area a little more so I could investigate.

I managed to open the wall enough to squeeze through. I found myself in a small room with a table and 4 chairs. Everything looked as if it hadn't been disturbed for over a hundred years. There were cobwebs everywhere and I was just getting ready to head back through the opening and commandeer a couple of the guys when the wall closed and I found myself in the darkened chamber all alone. Shit! I took a deep breath and tried feeling along the wall but I found nothing. Crap! I felt around in my purse and managed to find a little flashlight that was nearly worthless, yet it gave off enough light to make me feel marginally better. Well, since I was stuck on this side I figured I might as well see what I could find.

I noticed a book on the table, so I made my way over and opened it up. My eyes widened as I read the first line. _It is my opinion that the Americans intend to leave us in this prison forever. They brought the 4 of us here after the battle, all of us too injured to offer much of a defense. We were led down to this dungeon room and closed in with supplies to last a couple days. Whether they planned to come back for us or they intended us to rot in this room only they know. I know only that it has been many days and we grew weaker with each passing day. Our troops hadn't a chance against Washington on that fateful day. Only in hindsight can I admit I should have listened to my engineers. I was too full of self-importance to see how badly I had misjudged these militia men. The Battle of Trenton was my greatest mistake. I sit here the last living leader of our battalion. Knyphausen, Lossberg and Grothausen are all dead. How much longer I have I don't know. I am weak and there is no food or water. I pray someone will come soon….Rall_

I shuddered as I closed the book and looked around using the tiny flashlight to try and see into the dark. Something in the corner caught my eye and I made my way over for a closer look. I ran the flashlight over the crease and got a funny feeling like I was touching a live wire. I knew there was something here, now I just had to find it. I'm not sure how long I was down there. I heard muffled voices off and on. I ran the flashlight up and down the crease checking to make sure nothing undesirable was lurking in the dark and then I raised my hand to feel along the crease. Just beyond where I could easily reach there was a button. I stretched to reach and then pressed the button. The wall shifted and I was now in the unenviable position of deciding to continue moving forward or wait for a possible rescue. I looked back to the table and thought of the 4 men that had been placed in this room. Three of them died here and I wasn't sure Rall didn't as well. I decided to forge forward and see where this little excursion led me.

I had more room to squeeze through this time. I used the flashlight for a quick peek to make sure I wasn't heading into worse danger. What I saw looked like a passageway of some sort. I went through and although there were torches in place on the wall, I had no matches with me to light them. I rolled my eyes and after taking a deep breath I moved forward. The wall moved back into place making the pathway darken slightly. I continued moving onward and found myself going in a downward direction before coming to a flight of stairs. I made my way up the stairs. By the time I reached the top I was breathing heavy. There had to be about 300 stairs for Pete's Sake. There was a narrow passageway at the top that came to an end at what looked like a doorway. I used my little flashlight to check out the seams of the door and saw what looked to be a hollowed out area at the top.

I stretched to reach the spot but I was just shy of reaching it. I looked around to see if I could find something to stand on. I could find nothing, but closer inspection near the bottom of the doorway showed there was a place for someone to put their toe to raise them up. I gingerly put my toe in the hole and grabbed hold of the wall as best I could to help get myself up to reach the hollow area at the top. I had to reach blind because there was no chance for me to see the area before sticking my hand in there. I moved my hand around and found a latch. I tried to get it to work but was having no luck. I grabbed hold of it and lost my balance, falling away from the door. As I did so I pulled the lever I was holding and the door moved. There was light streaming through the crack. I quickly scrambled to my feet and pushed the door open enough so I could slip through. I looked around and noticed I was on a hill about a mile from where the house was located.

I headed down towards the house and as I neared I noticed Ram and Jeanne Ellen looking around with their forearms shading their eyes. As soon as Ram saw me he turned towards the house and said something and then he was making his way towards me. I knew by the way the sun was in the sky that it was late afternoon. Apparently I was downstairs longer than I had thought. Ram took hold of me and demanded, "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. Just decided to liven things up with a little adventure."

Next thing I knew Ranger and Tank were running out of the house towards me. Ranger wrapped me in his arms and drew me close, "Where did you go Babe?"

I snuggled into his arms and replied, "Apparently I have a secret room and a secret passage."

By this time Les, Jeanne Ellen, Grandma and Lula had all joined us. Lula heard the last little bit and said, "Get outta town, say what?"

"I set the box of canning jars on the shelf in the basement and part of the wall came open. I squeezed through and there was a room with a table and 4 chairs. There was an old book, possibly a journal with an entry in it about the Battle of Trenton from Rall. Then I found another opening that lead to a passageway heading down before I reached some stairs. There were about 300 stairs leading up and when I got to the top there was a door. I had to put my foot in a toehold on the door to reach the top to trip the lever that let me out. I ended up about a mile away on the hill over there."

Ranger kept me close to him as he said, "We'll check it out."

"Don't forget flashlights and matches. There are torches in the passageway but I had no matches."

Les teased, "Don't you want to come with us Beautiful?"

"I already did the stairs once. Twice would be tempting fate. I think I'll take a shower and relax for a while."

Ranger hugged me to him before releasing me and I headed to the third floor for a shower as the guys headed for the basement to check out the secret room and passageway. I stripped as soon as I got in the room and put my clothes in the dirty clothes hamper. I took time to shave before washing up and shampooing my hair. Once I stepped out of the shower I felt loads better. I dried off and dressed in blue jeans and a tie died t-shirt. I sat on the bed to put socks and shoes on and then worked at taming my hair. I was just putting the finishing touches of my make up on when Ranger walked into the apartment and stripped his clothes off and headed for the shower. I checked the time and realized he'd been checking out the basement room and passageway for over two hours.

I waited the 15 minutes it took Ranger to shower and dress. When he joined me once more I lifted an eyebrow and asked, "Well?"

Ranger's jaw clenched, "I'm glad you went to the left Babe. The passageway to the right led about 3 miles in the other direction. There are a lot of traps set up along the way so only someone trained to look for them would be able to avoid them, unless they knew where the traps were placed."

"Why would they need traps?"

"There's a huge room about three miles away. My guess is during the Civil War slaves were brought to that room and hidden till it was thought safe. Then they would be taken through the passageway to the other location and given papers making them a free person."

"So not only do I have a room where 4 leaders of a Britain battalion were left to die, I also have a slave room that housed runaway slaves?"

Ranger gave a miniscule nod, "Looks that way Babe."

I shook my head, "I knew the house was old, but I never suspected it was such a part of history."

"Fortunately for the house you got the jump on me. I had planned to knock the thing down."

I noticed the clock on the nightstand read 5 minutes to 6 and I groaned, "We have to get downstairs or it'll be our fault the meat is dried out."

Ranger gave me the almost smile and we headed down to the dining room. What a day this one had been and tomorrow didn't look like being any less involved. After all we would have to get set up at the park for the BBQ cook off.


	38. The Cook Off

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 38: The Cook Off

Stephanie's POV:

My alarm went off at 6 a.m. the next morning and I groaned. There was no way I was ready to get up, but I knew if I was going to help Grandma and Lula then I would have to bite the bullet and get up anyway. I shuffled into the shower and the cold water went a long way towards waking me up. I dried off and dressed in a pair of blue jeans, emerald green fitted t-shirt and sneakers. I added the utility belt and gun and added pepper spray and a stun gun. If Marco the Maniac came upon us I for one wanted to be ready. Of course I knew that Ranger was going to have a team of 5 Rangemen shadowing us today. I put my license, credit cards and money into a pocket purse so I wouldn't have to worry about carrying a purse. I attached my cell phone to the utility belt and I was ready to go. I headed downstairs to find Grandma putting stacks of pancakes on the table and Ranger was going over things with the guys. I sat down at the table and ate a couple pancakes. Once I was done we started packing things up to head to the park.

I drove the Cayenne with Grandma and Lula. There were two black SUV's following us with all the gear. Woody, Cal, Lester, Bobby, and Manny were split between the two vehicles. Once we got to the park, I stopped to pick up the directions to where we were supposed to set up for the cook off. I followed the directions to our dually appointed spot and parked. The guys started unpacking all the stuff we needed to set up. All in all it didn't take us long to get set up. It was nearing lunch time when we had finished. Junior and Binkie arrived while we were there. They would be guarding our equipment to make sure it wasn't tampered with. Once we had everything set, we headed back towards the house. We were turning off on our road when a bright yellow Hummer pulled out of nowhere and cut us off from the guys in the SUV's. The Hummer pulled up beside us and Lula screamed.

I asked, "What?"

"It's The Maniac! He's got a clever."

"Well he's going to have a hard time using it over there."

Grandma piped up from the back, "Yeah but those three with him all have guns pointed this way."

Shit! I floored the gas pedal and we fishtailed down the driveway. I could see Ranger and Tank looking at something in the distance and I laid on the horn. Both men turned in our direction and they moved to safer locations and took aim at the Hummer. I spun to a stop and we all ducked down in the Cayenne. I heard gunshots and then the sound of the Hummer speeding away as more vehicles spun into sight. Lula went to get out and I put a hand on her arm telling her to wait till Ranger or Tank let us know it was okay. Several seconds later Tank opened the front passenger door as Ranger opened my door. I wrapped my arms around Ranger's neck and Lula launched herself at Tank taking him by surprise and they both went down to the ground.

Grandma moved her dentures around and looked at the other guys standing around. "I wouldn't mind trying that myself."

All the guys stepped back well out of her launching vicinity. Grandma sighed and rolled her eyes before asking, "Alright, which one of you young bucks is going to help me down out of here so I can fix us some lunch?"

Woody stepped forward and held out a hand to her. Grandma grumbled something about people ruining all her fun and accepted his help in getting down. She hurried inside and I knew she'd have a meal ready by the time we could get inside. True enough, Grandma had platters full of sandwiches and bowls of fresh fruits and vegetables. Everyone helped themselves and in no time all the food was gone.

That afternoon Grandma and Lula worked at perfecting their BBQ sauce. Once they had the right combination they liberally applied it to pieces of chicken as well as ribs before taking them outside to BBQ. They wanted to test drive the sauce for dinner. I offered to help but Lula said they had everything covered. I went out on the front porch and sat down to watch the show. Lula set the trays on the table and walked over to the grill. She took and dumped the whole bag of charcoal in the grill. My eyes widened as I watched her pour three containers of lighter fluid over the coals. I had a bad feeling as she went for the book of matches and I reached into my purse where the panic button Ranger gave me was located. I pressed it. Then I pressed it again for good measure.

My phone rang immediately and I answered. "Hello?"

"What's wrong Babe?"

"Lula and Grandma are getting ready to BBQ for dinner and I have a bad feeling."

There was complete silence on the other end and then Ranger said, "Tank and I are heading around the house now."

At that moment Lula lit a match and the whole book went up in flames. It surprised Lula enough she tossed the flaming book and it landed on the top of the charcoal. The mound of coals on the grill was suddenly ignited and the flames flicked out and caught Lula's chef's hat on fire. I told Ranger, "Bring a water hose and you better hurry."

Seconds later Tank and Ranger came running around the house. Sure enough Tank had a hose in his hands and he aimed it in Lula's direction and placed his thumb over the end so the water sprayed in her direction. Tank put the flames out but he also soaked Lula who was reacting to the ice cold spray by gasping and flapping her arms, running around to try and get away from the spray. In her bid to escape the water she knocked into the grill and sent it tipping over onto its side. The charcoal spilled out onto the ground and the flames started eating at the grass. Ranger had grabbed Grandma and carried her over by where I was now standing and anxiously watching as soon as Tank turned the water spray on Lula. Ranger told us both to stay put and he went back to help Tank with the fire.

By now there were more Merry Men pulling up. Lester, Ram and Manny all got fire extinguishers out of their vehicles and ran over to the fire to help put it out. Their task was made harder by a weaving Lula who was kicking live coals all over the place. Finally, Tank handed the hose to Ranger and he ran into the thick of things and grabbed Lula and lifted her in a fireman's carry and got her out of the fire. Within seconds of Tank removing Lula from the thick of things the fire was out. By some miracle the table with the meat on it had survived without a scratch. Lester took the trays of meat back into the house and Manny and Ram cleaned up the mess from the fire.

Ranger came over shaking his head. He stopped beside me and said, "Woody's up to go with you tomorrow. Any chance I can convince them to let him do the grilling?"

I looked at the disaster of my yard and then turned to Grandma who was wearing a dazed look. I narrowed my eyes and replied, "Don't worry. I'll convince Lula it was her idea."

Ranger pulled me to him and hugged me. "I'd appreciate that Babe."

By the time Lula had cleaned up, Lester had the meat grilled on the stove. Grandma put together a huge bowl of potato salad, cole slaw and baked beans. Everything was on the table ready to be eaten by 6 p.m. We sat down and I had to admit the sauce was the best I'd ever eaten. Once all the food was gone we cleaned up. Instead of sitting outside for a while, everyone retired early and spent the rest of the evening in their respective rooms. Poor Les and Grandma were solo.

I'm not sure what the other couples were up to but I know how Ranger and I spent the night. The minute the door was closed I was in Ranger's arms and he was kissing me with enough passion to melt the biggest iceberg in the world. Once the kiss was going he lifted me in his arms and carried me through to the bedroom where he gently placed me on the bed and stripped me down before removing his clothes and joining me in bed. The kisses grew more heated and I went up in flames in his arms taking him with me.

I felt Ranger slip from the bed and opened my eyes to see what time it was. I groaned on seeing it was only 4 a.m. I turned over and closed my eyes only to have Ranger sit down on the bed and pull me back around to face him. He kissed my cheek before saying, "Don't forget to make sure Woody does the grilling Babe."

I gave Ranger an umpf and kept my eyes closed. I felt the bed shaking as his shoulders shook with silent laughter. Ranger got up and I heard him quietly leave the room. Seconds later I was in a deep sleep. When the alarm went off at 8 a.m., I groaned and thought about turning over and going back to sleep but then I remembered I was helping Lula and Grandma with the cook off. I slid out of bed and headed to the shower. Once I was thoroughly clean I dressed and added makeup. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and headed downstairs to see if Grandma and Lula were ready to get this show on the road.

We had just reached the Cayenne when Woody pulled up. He got out of the black SUV he was driving and came over and got in the back seat. Lula looked around with narrowed eyes and demanded, "What are you doin' here?"

I cut my eyes to Woody and then turned back to Lula, "He's our cook for the afternoon. He's in charge of the grill."

Lula turned narrowed eyes in my direction and put her hands on her ample hips, "You sayin' I ain't capable a grilling our meat?"

I looked at her with widened eyes and said, "Not at all. Ranger just thought it would be better with Woody cooking to give him a cover for being there in case Marco the Maniac shows up."

Lula thought about it for a minute and then she shuddered before saying, "Good thinkin' on Batman's part."

I cut my eyes to the rearview mirror and saw the look of respect Woody sent my way. I gave a slight nod in response. Thirty minutes later we were pulling into the park and heading to our assigned section. Binkie and Junior were still there guarding everything. We unloaded and then I drove the Cayenne to the parking area and walked back into the park. Good thing we'd gotten there early or I would never have been able to drive up to the tent to drop stuff off.

Woody set up the grill and Lula, Grandma and I got the meat out and started marinating it in the BBQ sauce. Binkie and Junior headed out and a couple minutes later I saw the two Chesters headed our way. Chester Deuce and Chester Rodriguez were complete opposites in looks. Rodriguez stood 5'9" in height and weighed 185 pounds of compacted muscle. His black hair and skin tone gave homage to his Latin roots. Deuce stood 6'3" in height and weighed 185 pounds of muscle. He was a blonde haired, blue-eyed, movie star handsome, heartthrob.

From the glazed look in Grandma's eyes I knew we were in for an interesting afternoon. In no time we had the meat ready. Woody got the grill fired and started putting the meat on to grill. All of a sudden Lula squealed, "There's the Maniac!"

I turned and sure enough Marco was making his way through the tents with his meat clever in his hands. I figured we were safe enough with the two Chesters and Woody but then Grandma asked, "How much was that reward for his capture?"

Lula got a gleam in her eyes and took off running after him with Grandma hot on her heels. I turned to Woody and said, "No matter what, keep grilling."

Woody looked torn but seemed satisfied that the two Chesters were with me and I had adequate back up. I was running all out and by the time I caught up to Lula and Grandma, Marco was climbing into a car and taking off. Luckily enough the Cayenne was close by so I headed in that direction telling Grandma and Lula to come on In no time I was on Marco's tail as we sped out of the park, through Trenton and on towards Ewing. I was closing in when I saw the lights in my rearview mirror. I was tempted to keep going but Chester Deuce insisted I pull over.

When the officer came up to the window he scowled at me as he said, "License and registration please."

"Officer, I was chasing Marco the Maniac. He's wanted in connection with a murder in Trenton."

The officer gave me a condescending look before taking my license and registration. I turned to the guys in the back and shrugged. "Looks like he doesn't believe me."

When the officer came back up Rodriguez sat forward and gave the cop a look that had the cop backing up and reaching for his gun. At that moment I saw a nondescript car that looked vaguely familiar race by. The cop handed me my license and said, "Today's your lucky day sweetheart." And he turned to go after the other car.

I leaned out and quickly grabbed the keys he had on his belt and tossed them to Lula. She gave me a wide-eyed look and I indicated the window. She tossed them out and the officer was looking around to see where the keys went. He turned angrily back to me and demanded, "Did you take my keys?"

I lifted my hands, "No. I have no clue where your keys are."

The cop snarled and I backed up. He took a step towards the car and stopped dead. Chester Rodriguez had his gun trained on the cop. "I work for Rangeman security. Run it through your dispatch. We are leaving now and you will let us leave or Ranger himself will come knocking on your door."

At the mention of Ranger's name the man paled and swallowed before asking weakly, "Why didn't you tell me you were Ranger's guys. By all means, have a nice day." And he turned and ran back to his car.

I started the Cayenne and we headed back to the park. We had just returned to our tent when Morelli strolled up. "Hey Cupcake, how you doing?"

I gave Morelli a narrow-eyed, questioning look and asked, "Why do you ask?"

Morelli grinned. "I just got a call from the Ewing police department about a Stephanie Plum and men from Rangeman."

Lula piped up with, "Whatever they said was a lie."

Morelli shook his head. "Apparently the cop decided to call in the information on Marco the Maniac. When the state police arrived at Marco's car they found him with his throat slit with his own meat clever. No sign of foul play." Morelli gave me a look and asked, "You wouldn't know anything helpful would you?"

I shook my head no trying not to give anything away. Morelli nodded and said, "I didn't think you would."

About that time Grandma said, "Well I'll be. Would you look at this?"

I turned and raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

"The guy that's supposed to give the winner of the cook off their prize. He's one of them guys that was at the house the other night."

I took the pamphlet and asked, "Are you sure Grandma?"

"Yup. Got a good look at that one because he was hung like a horse."

I rolled my eyes. Only Grandma would be able to identify someone by the size of their crotch. I read the section beside his photo and took note of the name. "It says here his name is Zito Dudley and he's the VP of the company holding the contest."

Lula piped up, "Does that mean there won't be no prize for the winner? What's the ruling on that?"

I shrugged. There was a commotion and we all turned to see Connie Rizzoli headed our way with none other than Zito Dudley. He had a hold of her arm and was holding a gun on her. Morelli went into cop mode and drew his gun on Dudley. "Let her go Dudley. You have nowhere to go."

"Drop your gun or she's dead. I have nothing else to loose. That moron the Maniac has ruined everything. I tried to tell my stupid brother-in-law that I could handle this but no. He had to go for the professionals. What did that get him? Nothing! The company is going to be ruined!"

"You can still walk out of this." Morelli tried to reason with him.

"I want a chopper."

Morelli shrugged, "We don't have a chopper. No money in the budget."

Connie moved and Dudley's gun went off. She went to fall but he kept her up in front of him. He was starting to panic. I stepped forward and said, "If you let Joe call for the medevac you can get away using that. You just have to let them come in and take care of her so she doesn't die."

Dudley nodded, "Get the medevac."

I looked at Joe and he shook his head, "I hope you know what you are doing Cupcake." He took out his phone and called for the helicopter.

Everything would have been fine but Dudley got nervous when people started closing in and he dropped Connie to the ground. He looked frantically around and the closest person was Lula. He grabbed onto her and she started waving her arms and squealing. I could see Ranger and Tank headed in our direction. About that time Lula saw them too and she started screaming, "Save me Tank!"

Dudley was losing his grip on her and said, "Hold still you fat cow!"

Lula went into instant Rhino mode and turned and sucker punched Dudley in the throat. He went down and stayed down. Morelli cuffed him and called for backup. Once all the excitement was over we made our way back to our tent. I was surprised to see several people gathered around. We made our way through to find Woody dishing up the BBQ to the judges. Each judge took a bite and then instead of politely placing their plates on the table, they continued eating till the BBQ was all gone.

The head judge declared, "We have a winner. What's the name of your BBQ sauce?"

Woody turned to us and raised an eyebrow. I smiled and said, "Lulabelle's Finest."

The judges were nodding and murmuring. Apparently they liked the name as much as they loved the sauce. As for me, I was glad it was over and we wouldn't be bothered by Marco the Maniac or Zito Dudley again.

Later as Ranger and I lay in bed I marveled at the fact Lula and Grandma's sauce actually won the cook off. Ranger said the first sauce was put forward by a group that worked for the company. When they had tasted the sample Lula and Grandma had dropped off when they had signed up, they knew that was a winning sauce. The group had admitted to breaking in and stealing the sauce. Apparently Stanley Chipotle had paid them to help make sure he won the cook off. When he was murdered they figured they would go ahead and enter the sauce themselves. They were none the less surprised when Grandma and Lula came up with an even better sauce that won the contest.

Although the million dollar prize was none existent since the company was in bankruptcy due to the actions of Stanley and Dudley, a competitor had come forward and offered Lula and Grandma a contract for their sauce. Ranger had his lawyer look at the paper work and broker a kick ass deal for them, and although it wasn't a million, each came out well to the good.

Connie had gone after Marco for the bond money figuring she could use the million dollar reward the company was giving to get out of the Bonds office. Unfortunately for her there was no reward because the company was bankrupt. The cop that pulled me over near Ewing was dealing with unhappy superiors that weren't happy he had screwed up and not followed up with the Maniac. To top that off he had to formally apologize for his attitude towards me. Al Rocher had come over to interview Lula and Grandma. Lula was smiling wide till the camera started rolling and then she let a series of farts that made it impossible to hear a word she said. One such fart set the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest and the loudest fart on record, lasting a stunning 2 minutes and 48 seconds, beating out the old record of 2 minutes and 42 seconds. (_Stunningly true according to a google search_)

What a day!


	39. Unexpected Complications

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 39: Unexpected Complications

Stephanie's POV:

The next morning I was at my desk at Rangeman when I got a call from my dad. It seems the doctor felt Joyce had made great strides in getting better and he was willing to release her if there was a place for her to go. I reminded my dad that I still had two rooms available if they both wanted to move into the house. Daddy told me he'd give it some thought and would run the option by Joyce to see what her thoughts were on the subject. When I hung up from talking to him I got started on the searches in my in box. There were so many I was afraid the box would break, spilling papers all over the place. By lunchtime I had worked through nearly half the searches. I started the next search before standing and stretching. I decided to head to the break room and see what Ella had brought down.

When I entered the room Lester and Bobby were already at the table. Lester smiled and said, "Hey Beautiful, why don't you pull up a chair and join us?"

I sent Les a finger wave before looking in the fridge and grabbing a turkey on wheat bread and a bottle of coke. I joined the guys at the table and after taking a bite of my sandwich I moaned. I didn't know what kind of sauce Ella used on her sandwiches but this was the best. Bobby and Lester looked at each other and grinned. I shrugged, what could I say? I enjoyed my food. Bobby waited till I finished my sandwich before asking, "Want another one Bomber?"

"No. I'm good." I bit my lip and paused before continuing, "My dad called today and it seems the doctor thinks Joyce will be ready to leave the hospital soon."

Bobby and Les looked a little uncomfortable. I narrowed my eyes and asked, "What?"

Bobby shrugged, "Nothing really. Just it's hard forgetting she was partly responsible for what Mary Lou was doing to you."

"Yeah but I think that was because Mary Lou used her emotions against her. My dad says she's made a lot of progress."

I could see I wasn't convincing the guys. I shrugged, "We'll have to agree to disagree."

Les grinned, "Glad to see you catching on Beautiful."

I rolled my eyes and went to leave. I waved and told the guys I'd see them later and went back to my desk. The afternoon went much like the morning and by the end of the day my in box was empty. I put up a huge note telling Rodriguez I better not get any more searches than the rest of them or else. I knew it was an empty threat but I was hoping Rodriguez wouldn't know that. I headed to Ranger's office and opened the door without knocking. Ranger glanced in my direction and then quickly rolled up the plans he was looking at. I knew he was still planning on going ahead with the new location of Rangeman as soon as he found a location that would give him everything he needed. I smiled inwardly at what I knew that he didn't.

I ignored the canister and asked, "You ready to leave?"

"Yeah Babe, just give me 5."

I nodded and went to sit on the sofa. True to his word, Ranger was ready to leave in 5 minutes. We headed down in the elevator to the garage. As we slipped into the Turbo I turned to him and said, "Maybe we could eat out tonight? I have the feeling that Lula and Grandma are still pushing the BBQ sauce."

Ranger winced, "Eating out it is."

While Ranger drove us to a restaurant, I called Grandma and let her know we wouldn't be there for dinner. She sounded exceptionally happy and I turned to Ranger with an uh oh look. As soon as I hung up Ranger asked me what was going on. I told him about Grandma's exceptionally good mood. Ranger called Rangeman and had Bobby and Lester head out to check on Grandma. I had to smile at the reluctance Bobby and Lester showed in getting close to a little old woman.

Ranger took me to Rocinni's and we had a delicious Italian dinner with Tiramisu for dessert. When we finished we headed to the house. I was a little surprised to see the black Rangeman SUV parked in the front. I figured Bobby and Lester would be done well before now. Ranger helped me out of the car and we made our way into the house. When we entered the house and from the loud laughter I had an inkling there was more to Grandma's good mood than met the eye. We walked into the main sitting room and they were all there. Grandma, Lula, Tank, Bobby and Lester. Tank, Lula and Grandma were acting like they were drunk but knowing the Ranger's rules I couldn't credit it in regards to Tank.

I looked at Ranger and could see he was trying not to laugh. Tank was wearing a pink housecoat, Bunny slippers and a pink shower cap. That was it….completely. Not another stitch of clothes. The bad part was in Tank's current situation, he was having difficulty keeping the barn door closed. Lula on the other hand was wearing Tank's cargos and T-shirt. Grandma was looking a little loopy and Bobby and Lester, although they looked totally sober, were at the moment wrapped in each other's arms with their hands handcuffed behind the other's back. When they saw us there was a moment of embarrassment and then a look of hope.

Ranger lifted an eyebrow and asked, "What's going on here?"

Bobby sighed, "Well, you know how you sent us out here to check out Steph's Granny?"

Ranger nodded.

Bobby continued, "Well, when we got here they were all acting strange and when we tried to find out what was going on, Lula had Tank…..detain us and they've been partying hearty since. My guess is whatever is in that bottle is 100 proof. From the writing on the bottle it's 300 year old Scotch."

Ranger went over to the bottle and lifted it. He took a sniff and made a face. He turned to me and said, "Your Granny is looped Babe. Apparently so are Tank and Lula."

I shook my head, "They're going to be feeling it in the morning."

My eyes met Ranger's and we both smiled. Ranger released Bobby and Lester and between the four of us we got the others to bed. We spent some extra time getting everything set up for the morning when they came awake. I took the bottle and carried it through to the kitchen. There was some strange writing on the bottle and I tried to get a better look at the wording. When Ranger came into the kitchen I showed him the bottle. He frowned and took his phone out of his pocket. Whoever he talked to had the task of detailing Grandma's actions today. When he got off the phone he turned to me and said, "We might not have answers tonight Babe, but we will get our answers. My guess is your Grandma thought it was some kind of fruit juice."

Ranger wanted to make sure he had the bottle someplace safe so he took it with us to the third floor. He set it on the dresser and then he lost no time in switching his attention to me.

Bobby's POV:

When Ranger sent Les and I to check out Stephanie's Grandma, neither one of us wanted the job but we knew when Ranger gives an order you better obey it. We headed out to the house and everything started out well enough. Once we got inside the house we learned that Lula and Tank were there to and they had been drinking out of a bottle of supposed fruit juice with Grandma. Apparently Grandma had found it downstairs in the basement. It was a really old bottle and had some odd writing on it. I tried to get a better look at the bottle and that's where everything went to hell in a hand basket. Grandma yelled we were trying to take her juice and Tank and Lula got up close and personal with us. At that time Tank was wearing the cargos and t-shirt and Lula had on the robe and bunny slippers along with the shower cap.

Tank handcuffed our hands behind each other's back so we couldn't get free. Then he drank a full glass of the stuff. He stood up and took his t-shirt off and beat his chest like King Kong and gave a Tarzan yell. Lula started giggling and told Tankie she wanted his cargos so she could dress up like a Rangeman. Tank weaved into the bathroom and a few seconds later his cargos came out. He asked Lula what he was gonna wear now and Lula started giggling and shuffled into the bathroom. Seconds later Lula came out in the Cargos and t-shirt and Tank came out in the robe, bunny slippers and shower cap.

Grandma tried to give each of us a drink out of the bottle but we declined. I was finally able to get a close enough look and what I saw made my eyes go wide. How the hell did Steph's grandma get a hold of 300 year old Scotch? When Ranger and Stephanie walked into the room I just wanted to sink through the floor. Then I realized they were the ones that were going to save us from this situation. Sure enough, Ranger let us loose and Les and I helped them get the other three in bed and set the stage for when they woke in the morning. Since Les and I had been tied up so to speak, Ranger thought it was only fitting that we get to take part in the fun of the morning.

I was awake before my alarm went off and I got up and made sure I was dressed. I went out to the hallway to see Lester exiting his room as well. We grinned at each other and decided to pull up seats and watch the show. Each of our rooms had a chair that was easily moved to the doorway and we sat down to watch the show that would be starting any moment. I heard a noise as if someone was coming downstairs and turned to see Ranger and Stephanie join the party.

At that moment an alarm louder than I'd ever heard went off and there was swearing and the sounds of people falling around. The door to the room we'd put Lula and Tank in was jerked open and a pissed off Tank was snarling, "If I find the smartass that did that I'm gonna pound him in the ground."

I didn't have to look around to know that Les was grinning same as me but Ranger would have his blank look on. From the sounds of the giggles I knew Stephanie was getting a kick out of the scene. I can't say as I blame her. Tank was still wearing the pink robe of the night before and nothing else. The way he was moving around his barn door was flapping in the wind. Just then there were the sounds of pots and pans clanging and more alarms going off. A wild-eyed Lula joined Tank in the doorway and she was saying, "Someone's dead. Just point me in their direction and they dead as doornails."

Tank's booming voice demanded, "Quit yelling in my ear Mama Bear."

Lula turned on Tank in full Rhino mode and said, "I ain't yellin' ya big oaf! If I was yellin' you'd know it!"

Although it sounded like they were both yelling, none of us made a sound to draw their attention to us. We watched them running around for another 15 minutes before they finally went back into the room and shut the door. Lester was laying in the floor laughing so hard and I was holding onto my side and bracing my feet so as not to fall on the floor. Stephanie was laying on the stairs in tears she was laughing so hard and Ranger was barely cracking a smile. A few minutes later Grandma's door opened and she came out of her room fully dressed and made for the stairs as if nothing had happened last night. Les shook his head and said, "Damn Beautiful, doesn't anything affect your Grandma?"

Stephanie shrugged, "I'm the lightweight in the family. The only one that could ever outdrink Grandma was my mother."

Ranger shook his head and said, "You never disappoint Babe."

Stephanie turned to us and asked, "Did you find out where she found the bottle?"

I nodded, "Apparently downstairs in the basement."

Stephanie shook her head and said, "Leave it to Grandma."


	40. Grandma's Find

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 40: Grandma's Find

Stephanie's POV:

By the time Ranger and I got down to the breakfast table, Bobby and Lester were already there. Grandma had made her Trenton Famous streusel coffee cake, and there was an arrangement of complimentary fruits. I bypassed the fruit and concentrated on the streusel. Ranger on the other hand concentrated on the fruit. Bobby and Lester chose a selection of everything as did Grandma. Tank and Lula were noticeably absent.

Grandma frowned and asked, "Where's Lula and Tank? They best get down here if they want breakfast. I'm not holding an all-day eat when you want deal."

I smiled, "Well apparently that bottle you found contained 300 year old Scotch and they are feeling a little the worse for wear."

Grandma looked surprised, "I wondered what all that writing was about. There are about 500 more bottles where that one came from."

My eyes widened and I turned to Ranger. His eyes were narrowed. I knew I hadn't seen the bottles when I was down there and if Ranger had seen them he would have mentioned it. I asked, "Where exactly did you find these bottles?"

Grandma shrugged, "I'll show you after breakfast. Oh, by the way your dad called late yesterday afternoon and he said Joyce would like to take you up on the room. Your dad said he'll make arrangements to sell the house in town."

"Did he say when they would be arriving?"

"He thought by the end of the week. The D.A. called too and Mary Lou seems to be well enough now for them to go ahead with the trial. The trial is set to start on Monday morning."

I turned to Ranger and saw him exchange looks with Bobby and Lester. He turned to me and took my hand. "I'm assigning a bodyguard Babe. On you and Grandma, then when your dad and Joyce arrive they will be included as well."

I wanted to argue but the truth was I was relieved Ranger was putting men on me and my family. I nodded and he gently squeezed my hand. I smiled at him and then turned to my grandma. "So what say you show us where this stash of bottles is in the basement?"

Grandma nodded, "Soon as we get done here." She looked up at the ceiling and a smile crept on her face, "Sure is quiet up there. Those two need to be getting up and moving around instead of sleeping the day away."

After already getting a look at how pissed Tank was when the alarm went off, I didn't want to take a chance on him killing one of us if we did something more than we already had. Grandma smiled and pushed back from the table. "You all finish up here and then we can head down to the basement. I'm just going to take a short walk and see how things look."

When she walked out of the room I turned to the others and said, "You guys have to promise to keep Tank from killing her."

Ranger shook his head and said, "It's not your Grandma I'm worried about Babe. I'm wondering if Lula and Tank will survive."

Bobby and Lester were shoveling the rest of their breakfast in their mouths and then they pushed back to follow Grandma. Lester's comment was, "This is gonna be good."

I looked at my plate and realized I still had some coffee cake left. I hurriedly ate it and pushed back to follow the others. Ranger was right behind me. We reached the top of the stairs at the same moment that Grandma used the extra key to open Lula's door. She stopped and looked at the mess the room was in and then she started smiling and turned to us. She shook her head and said, "You guys had a good idea but you need finesse to pull this kind of thing off."

Grandma disappeared into the room and the door slammed. There was the sound of pans being clanged together and then Tank's booming, "Granny? What the….?"

There was the sounds of people falling and more pots and pans clanging together and then the worst alarm I'd ever heard. How my Grandma got that high pitched awful sound was beyond me but suddenly Lula was screeching, "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Tank's booming, "Aw hell!"

There was more thuds and crashing and then the sound of glass breaking and a deep, "_SHIT_! That hurt!"

The four of us continued to stand in the hall listening to the sounds from the room. Finally Grandma could be heard saying, "If you two are going to sleep all day I'm joining you. Let's get these clothes off."

The door swung open and Tank came barreling out with Lula right behind him. Lula said, "We're up Granny, we're up. See us up running around like chickens with their heads all chopped off?"

At that moment Lula pushed Tank out of the way and said, "Out of the way Tankie. I love ya and all but this here is every person for themselves."

Tank's reply was, "Oh no. You aren't leaving me back there with the Granny from hell."

They were both running towards the stairs and I started to worry they wouldn't stop when they came to us. Ranger stepped up into the hallway and grabbed hold of me and pulled me in behind him. Lula and Tank kept running and when they encountered Bobby and Lester on the stairway they didn't stop to find out what was going on, they just barreled over the guys and the next thing you know all four of them are tumbling down the stairs. Somehow Bobby and Lester landed on the bottom of the pile with Tank and Lula on top of them.

I shook my head and turned to Ranger, "Thanks for saving me."

Ranger gave me his almost grin and replied, "Always Babe."

Grandma came out of Lula's room grinning widely. "Well that was fun! You should have seen that big guy when I goosed him. I haven't had so much fun in years."

Ranger indicated Grandma should precede us on the stairs and when we got downstairs the others were still picking themselves off the floor. Grandma smiled and winked at Tank. "If you two aren't dressed in 15 minutes I'll take that as my cue to come back upstairs and join you."

Poor Bobby and Les were just gaining their feet but at Grandma's words Lula and Tank barreled over them to get to the stairs. Poor Les, it looked like Tank's foot stepped on his midsection and Lula fell on Bobby nearly suffocating him with her boobs. They pounded up the stairs and there was a lot of racket before there was a thundering sound on the stairs just shy of the 15 minute deadline. Bobby and Les heard them returning and quickly moved to stand behind Ranger. I couldn't help but laugh and although Ranger's blank face stayed in place I had a feeling he was laughing inside.

Grandma grinned as Tank and Lula joined us. "Good. Now that we're all together we can head down to the basement so I can show everyone where I found the bottle."

Lula's eyes widened, "But I ain't eaten breakfast yet."

Grandma shrugged, "Breakfast is over. You slept through it."

Lula's eyes narrowed, "Granny you know I get cranky when I go without food."

Grandma shrugged, "I suppose I could make you a couple of eggs if you think that would do?"

Lula smiled and I had a sudden queasy feeling in my stomach. Lula nodded, "That'll work just fine. I'll take three eggs and Tankie will take 5."

Grandma made her way to the kitchen and returned to the dining room table with two plates with eggs and toast. Lula went over and sat down as did Tank. They took one look at the plate of sunny side up eggs and battled to get to the bathroom first. Lula made it first and tossed her cookies, just barely making it out in time to allow Tank to get in there to toss his cookies. They both came out looking a little gray.

Grandma pointed to the table and said, "You wanted the eggs. I cooked the eggs. Now sit down and eat the eggs."

Lula gave a weak smile, "I don't think eggs was the right choice of breakfast food. I ain't really hungry right now Granny."

Grandma gave her a narrow eyed look and pointed to the table. Lula sighed and went over and sat down. Tank sat beside her. I had to give them credit; Tank stacked all the eggs together between two slices of toast and wolfed them down. He no more than swallowed the last bite and he was running back to the bathroom. I didn't think Tank was going to want to see eggs in the foreseeable future. Lula finally managed to take her last bite when the sounds of Tank's breakfast coming back up hit our ears and she hurried to the bathroom so she could allow her breakfast it's second passage of the day.

I put my hand on my stomach hoping my breakfast stayed down. Ranger put his hand over where mine rested and whispered in my ear to distract me. I was relieved his actions worked and I felt marginally better. Once Tank and Lula were back with us, Grandma stood and said, "Let's get down to the basement."

We trucked down to the basement and Grandma headed in a direction I hadn't yet investigated. There was a lever she moved and a door swung open to what looked like a room built under the ground on the other side of the basement. Inside the room there were hundreds of bottles. I opted to stay in the part of the basement that belonged to the house. The guys, Lula and Grandma all made their way into the other room. From my vantage point I could see what looked like a wine cellar built adjacent to the basement. When the others returned, my gaze went to Ranger.

He handed me a bottle of 250 year wine. I shook my head and said, "What else are we going to find in this basement?"

Ranger looked around and I noticed his eyes narrow. "It might be worth bringing a team in just to check it out Babe."

I nodded. "Maybe we should. Know any experts on finding hidden rooms?"

Ranger shook his head, "Not experts, but I know one or two guys that love hunting in old houses for secret passages. They're pretty good at it too."

I wave to the basement, "Well give them a call and let's see what this place is hiding."

Bobby and Lester started grinning ear to ear, but it was Tank that said, "You sure you want these two Bozo's tearing up your basement Little Girl?"

I gave Bobby and Lester a narrow-eyed look and said, "I'm sure they will be extremely careful."

Bobby nodded, "You got it Bomber."

Oh Boy! What had I gotten myself into?

_A secret room leading to secret passageways, one passageway leading to a spot on a hill a mile away and the other leading to a huge room believed to be a hideaway for runaway slaves, and now a secret wine cellar. What else could this basement be hiding? _


	41. Family Returns

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference._

Chapter 41: Family Returns

Stephanie's POV:

On Friday when Ranger and I left Rangeman, we had four black SUV's following us. Tank was headed to the house to see Lula, Bobby and Lester were off for the weekend so they were going to share my old room and spend the weekend checking out the basement, Chester Deuce and Chester Rodriguez were going to be Joyce and Grandma's bodyguards until Mary Lou's trial was over. Hal, who'd been guarding Grandma since earlier in the week, was going to get to head back to Rangeman for a few days' vacation. The last SUV was Cal and Binkie. Binkie was going to tail my dad and Cal had drawn the short straw and was my bodyguard. Woody had been guarding me since earlier in the week and he was getting vacation time same as Hal.

Poor Woody. I made a trip out to Quaker Bridge Mall to pick up some things for Joyce and Woody had the unenviable task of guarding me in Victoria Secrets during a sale. I came out of the store without a scratch, but we'd had to call Bobby to come take a look at Woody. He'd ended up with a broken nose from an elbow to the face and he inadvertently got between two customers vying for the same item and when the claws came out Woody's face got in the way. The worst thing was there was a little boy that got separated from his mother and Woody, trying to be helpful lifted the toddler onto his shoulder and started towards the customer service desk. The child's mother looked up to see someone carrying her baby off and didn't stop to ask questions. She kneed Woody in the groin and when he bent over she socked him in the eye. Of course when she found out he was taking the child to customer service so they could make an announcement she couldn't apologize enough.

I managed to help Woody out to the car and called Bobby on the way. Bobby patched Woody up and I made an effort to stay in the Rangeman building the rest of the week so Woody could heal. Of course, the best laid plans…Mooner's file came across my desk again and I gave it to Junior and Ramon to handle. I told them it was an easy pick up and all they had to do was watch a few episodes of whatever marathon Mooner was into that day. I got a call about30 minutes later from Ramon telling me Junior got hit on the head with a stink bomb and in trying to get away from the smell he stepped on a skunk and got sprayed. Then to add insult to injury the sprinkler system turned on and they were now both soaking wet and Junior had to go to the hospital because they thought his leg might be broken. I rolled my eyes and made my way to Woody's desk.

"Junior and Ramon didn't have any luck with Mooner. I need to go pick him up so he can get re-bonded."

Woody stood and said, "Ready when you are."

We headed down to the garage and in no time I was pulling up at Mooner's. He was waiting for us at the curb. As soon as I stopped Mooner climbed into the back and shook his head, "Man, you wouldn't believe them other two. I got it all on film for you dudette. Only thing is I forgot to put film in the camera. Mind if we stop by Pino's for something to eat on the way. They don't have good eats at the police station."

I looked at Woody and smiled, "Sure. I'm a little hungry myself."

We stopped at Pino's and Woody sat with his back to the wall so he was able to see the doors and windows. We got a bite to eat and Woody insisted on paying the bill. We headed back to the car and all of a sudden the Cayenne exploded in flames. Woody covered me and made sure I was safe before pulling his phone out and calling Rangeman to let them know we needed a ride. Seconds later three black SUV's pulled up with Ranger and Tank in one, Bobby and Lester in another and Hector and Manny in the third. Ranger headed over to make sure I was okay as the others checked out the scene. By now the fire trucks and several police cars were pulling into the lot as well as officers from inside Pino's coming out to see what was going on.

Once the fire was out, the fire chief came over to let Ranger know there was a device under the Cayenne that would have had to have been placed there within the last half hour. I looked at the shell of the Cayenne and then at Woody and Mooner. Whoever placed that wasn't worried about innocent people getting hurt. Mary Lou was in jail and all the others I could think of were already dead. I looked around at the people standing around watching and wondered if one of them was behind this. I was tired of tis shit happening. If it was Mary Lou behind this she had to have help. Who was there in town that might want to help her? Suddenly I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had an idea…now I just had to see if they'd take the bait. I looked over to see Bobby looking at Woody's arm and that's when I realized he'd been hurt.

I swayed but Ranger was there to wrap his arm around me. "It's alright Babe. Woody's going to be fine; he just got hit with a couple pieces of shrapnel from the Cayenne."

I leaned back against Ranger and said, "I think I know who might have set whatever it was under the Cayenne."

"Who Babe?"

"If it's someone helping Mary Lou it could only be one person." I turned and whispered a name.

Ranger pulled me closer and wrapped his arms tighter around me. "Don't worry Babe. I'll find out."

Ranger put me in the Cayenne that he and Tank had arrived in and sent Woody to keep an eye on me. He strode over to Hector and I knew he gave Hector the name I'd given him. Hector looked to where I was sitting and nodded. He disappeared. I was looking right at him and he disappeared in broad daylight. I shook my head in wonder.

Fortunately for Woody that was the last of our excitement. I was able to stay in the building the rest of the week and give him a chance to recover from his injuries. Each day, Woody followed Ranger and me to the house and he stayed in my old room. By now all my belongings were in the third floor apartment along with Ranger's. We had set up my old room with four double beds for the guys who would be guarding us for the next several days till the end of the trial. Of course, that wouldn't mean the end of things if someone decided to take revenge on Mary Lou's behalf. There were a handful of people that might consider the risk worth it.

Now here it was Friday and Hal and Woody would get a much needed vacation and two new guys would take their place as bodyguards to Grandma and me. When Cal stopped by my cubicle and rubbed the top of my head, telling me he was my new bodyguard I shook my head and actually asked him if he drew the short end of the stick. Cal just laughed and said he was the lucky one.

So here we were heading home at the end of the day Friday with a Rangeman entourage hot on our tails. Ranger pulled up to the house and then came around to help me out of the truck. We made it into the house with the guys behind us. The first person I saw on entering the house was my daddy. I ran to him and gave him a big hug. I noticed Joyce join us and give us a big smile. She stepped forward and said, "Oh Stephanie, I can't thank you enough for making me a part of your family."

I smiled, "I'm glad you're doing better Joyce."

She smiled at daddy and said, "Your dad has helped me to come to terms with a lot of things."

I raised an eyebrow. Joyce giggled, "I admitted some hard truths while I was in the hospital Stephanie. Although I know your dad isn't biologically mine, he's sorta adopted me anyway. He says you are his daughter and since I am your half-sister, he's my father too." Joyce shrugged, "I like being part of your family."

I hugged Joyce and whispered in her ear, "Welcome home big sister."

She hugged me back and said, "It's good to be home."

I indicated the guys, "There have been some developments since you've been gone. Earlier this week someone put a device under the Cayenne and blew it up. We think it's someone trying to help Mary Lou."

Joyce's eyes hardened and her hands clenched, "You know who it is?"

I looked at her puzzled by her sudden fierce look, "I thought maybe it might be Lenny. Unfortunately he left town when Mary Lou filed for divorce and hasn't been seen since. There is only one other person I could think of that might help her."

Joyce gave a half smile that looked a little scary. She turned to Ranger and said, "Mary Lou has a male cousin that would do anything for her." She turned to me, "You know who I'm referring to?"

I nodded. "That's who I thought might be behind it too."

Joyce turned back to Ranger and asked, "So what are you doing to prevent Stephanie from getting hurt?"

Ranger raised his eyebrow and said, "I have guards on Grandma and Stephanie and now that you and Mr. Plum are here I'm adding guards on you as well. I also have men on the man we think is responsible. He won't get near Stephanie."

Joyce nodded and said, "See that he doesn't or you'll have me to answer to."

I couldn't help looking at Ranger to see how he was taking Joyce's declaration. There was a glimmer of a smile on his face but he remained silent. Ranger nodded, "Dually noted."

I introduced the guys, "Daddy, Joyce, I'd like you to meet everyone. I think you both know Ranger, this is Tank…"

At that moment Lula walked in smiling and said, "He's mine."

I continued, "Lester, Bobby, Chester Rodriguez, Chester Deuce, Cal and Binkie. Daddy, Binkie will be your bodyguard; the two Chester's will cover Grandma and Joyce. Les and Bobby will be bunking with the rest of the guys in my old room so they can check out the basement. You won't believe what we've already found down there."

My dad chuckled, "Don't tell me, Al Capone's Jersey hideout?"

We all looked to my dad. He looked surprised to see us all staring at him. He put his hands up in the air and said, "Just kidding Pumpkin."

I shrugged, "Wouldn't surprise me. I found a secret room where four of the Britain Army leaders were held after the Battle of Trenton. Then there was a secret passage that led to a spot on a hill about a mile away in one direction and in the other direction there was a room found that housed runaway slaves. Plus Grandma found a wine cellar with 250-300 year old wine and Scotch. Bobby and Lester are going looking to see what else is down there and at this point, anything is possible."

My dad looked pensive, "Mind if I join you in your search?"

Les grinned, "The more the merrier."

I had a difficult time getting to sleep that night. I know daddy was just joking with his comment about Al Capone, but I had a funny feeling when he said that. I finally gave up trying to sleep and slipped out of the bed to go boot up my laptop and do some checking. I had heard stories about Al Capone owning property around the area before. It was even believed he built a hospital to care for his mother. The supposed hospital used to be a hotel at one point and some people believed there were underground tunnels leading in various directions. I googled the information and although there was lots of speculation, nothing was confirmed. I noticed one of the maps though and I knew I had seen it somewhere before. About two hours later I decided to hang it up for the night and head back to bed. When I slipped under the covers Ranger asked, "Find what you were looking for?"

I sighed, "No. But I found a map and I know I've seen that map before. I can't place where I've seen it though."

"Don't worry Babe. We'll figure it all out."

I leaned over and kissed him. Ranger put his hands on my waist and positioned me in just the right spot as to make both of us happy, then went about making sure we were as happy as possible.

_There is speculation about Al Capone having owned a summer house in Jersey. The question is, will they find evidence of Al Capone having been in the area? The information googled from Weird NJ Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets._


	42. Discoveries in the Basement

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. __**I'd also like to thank trhodes9 for her suggestions on what was in the room. **_

Chapter 42: Discoveries in the Basement

Lester's POV:

Whatever possessed Bobby and I to bunk in with these four yahoos this weekend? We'd get more sleep in the SUV's in sleeping bags. Binkie snored louder than a 747 and the other three were no slouches either. I sat up and glared in the general direction of the worst offender. I noticed Brown was sound asleep and wondered how the hell he was able to sleep through this shit. I tried putting the pillow over my ears but it did no good. Finally I gave up and stood up, making my way to the door. I slipped out in the hallway and the sounds coming from the other rooms weren't much better. I carefully made my way downstairs and through to the kitchen for a drink of water. I wasn't really thirsty but this was getting me out of that room even if just for a short time. I quickly found a glass and filled it with water from the faucet. Once I had drunk the contents I walked slowly into the sitting room and looked around. The sofa looked inviting. If I didn't have to worry about Grandma waking up before me and coming out here to find me sleeping I might consider sleeping down here. Just as I was giving serious thought to doing it anyway Granny started snoring nearly as loud as Binkie.

I hung my head and decided to try sleeping in the SUV. I went upstairs and grabbed the sleeping bag I was using and slipped into sweatpants and a sweat shirt I had brought. I pocketed the keys and grabbed my gun before heading back downstairs. I opened the front door as quietly as possible. I had no sooner opened the door than I saw something white moving in the yard. It looked like a young woman running in the wind. She disappeared as quickly as she appeared and then there was a blood-curdling scream that had the hairs on my arms standing on end. I quickly shut the front door and decided the house provided a much safer sleeping option. Not that I was afraid. Bad asses didn't do afraid. And it wasn't like I was too chicken shit to go out there and investigate. But the woman really didn't have much substance too her and I figured I'd be better off checking into things in the morning. Besides, the guys back at Rangeman had the outside of the house on monitors and if they'd seen anything they would have called Ranger. Obviously I was too tired to be seeing straight and since no one else saw it I figured I must not have either.

Now I was right back to where I was when I brought my gear downstairs; in need of a place to get some sleep for what remained of the night. That's when I remembered the screened in little porch area to the side of the house. I made my way there and was pleased to see there would be enough room for me to put my sleeping bag and bed down. I smiled and got everything all situated. I climbed into the sleeping bag and turned over to catch some sleep.

I was in the middle of the most sensuous dream I could ever remember. I was just about to get lucky when I felt something cold and wet on my face. If that wasn't bad enough, I could swear I heard Grandma Mazur telling me if I wasn't up in 5 minutes she was crawling in the bag with me. I sat up in horror my eyes shooting wide open. Sure enough, Steph's Granny was standing there with a picture that was suspiciously empty and a grin on her face.

I smiled weakly, "I'm up Granny."

She nodded. Best hurry. The others will be down shortly."

I nodded and as soon as she left the porch I was out of the bag and carrying my gear back upstairs. When I entered the room I was supposed to be sharing with the guys they were all in various states of dressing. Bobby shook his head and asked, "Where the hell did you disappear to?"

I waved to our roommates and said, "I don't know how in the world you could sleep through World War III last night but after trying to sleep I gave up at 3 a.m. and took my bag downstairs to the little screened in porch."

Binkie sent me a puzzled frown, "What do you mean World War III? I didn't hear anything."

I gave him a glare and sarcastically replied, "How could you when you were snoring louder than a 747?"

Binkie's eyes widened, "I never snore."

I turned to Bobby and hooked a thumb over my shoulder towards Binkie. "Can you believe this guy? He says he doesn't snore."

Bobby shrugged, "I never heard a thing."

"Are you deaf? How could you not hear him snoring?"

I looked around at the rest of the guys and they were looking at me like I was nuts. I shook my head and grabbed my bag before heading into the bathroom to change.

Bobby's POV:

I waited until the door was shut behind Les before I smiled and turned to the guys, "Hey, thanks for the warning to bring ear plugs."

Binkie nodded, "No problem. You think Les will be upset when he finds out?"

I grinned, "Probably. So we just need to make sure he doesn't find out."

Cal chuckled, "I sure would have loved to see his face when he saw the woman outside and then heard the scream."

I chuckled, "I'll bet he was white as a sheet."

The others all grinned as well.

Stephanie's POV:

I opened my eyes to find Ranger laying on the bed looking at me. He was fully dressed but I knew if he was of a mind to he could be naked in seconds. I raised an eyebrow and Ranger kissed me thoroughly before pulling back and saying, "Rain check Babe. I have a feeling it's going to be an interesting day."

I smiled, "Did you see what those guys pulled on Lester?"

Ranger's shoulders silently shook. "They got his reaction on the monitors and videotaped it for the rest of us."

I giggled, "If he ever finds out he's going to be pretty pissed."

Ranger kissed me one more time before slipping off the bed. He held his hand out to me and asked, "You ready to see what else your basement has to offer?"

I grinned, "Oh yeah. I thought I would check something on-line while the guys dig around and then if they find anything I'll come down and check it out."

Ranger nodded. I threw the covers back and Ranger's eyes darkened with desire. He took a step back towards me and I laughed and held up a hand, "Whoa Batman. We need to get downstairs for breakfast or Grandma will be up here with the key."

He raised an eyebrow, "I think I can devise a way to keep her out Babe."

My eyes ran over him and I was tempted but I hurried into the bathroom and shut the door so I could get dressed. When we got to the breakfast table Grandma had a huge selection of foods on the table. It didn't take long for the bacon, eggs, hash browns, waffles, pancakes, French toast, sausage and ham to all get eaten. Once breakfast was over Bobby and Lester headed down for the basement. Ranger and Tank headed down to lend them a hand. When Joyce found out what they were going to be doing she wanted to go along which meant Chester Deuce went along as well. Lula of course didn't want to be left out and so she headed down as well. My dad wanted to do some walking around outside so Binkie went with him. Chester Rodriguez was stuck in the kitchen helping and keeping an eye on Grandma and Cal pulled out a book to read while I was busy on the computer.

I was checking out a variety of articles when I came across an article titled: _Chicago crime boss's travels in New Jersey_. I clicked on the article and couldn't believe what I was reading. My dad had said something in jest yesterday and I'd gotten a funny feeling. Now I felt like I had touched a live wire. I continued to read. It was believed that Al Capone built a hospital where his mother resided but if he had been in the location the hospital was supposed to have been it would have been a hotel called the Royal Trenton Arms and it was located about 10 miles from a house that Al Capone was supposed to have built as a summer home for himself and his mother whenever he was in New Jersey. There was mention of the Royal Trenton Arms being haunted by two ghosts and one of them was often seen walking in the wind on the lawn outside the house Capone had built as his summer home. It was believed it might be Capone's mother walking the grounds looking for her son. Also in the article was talk over an array of tunnels underground from where the hotel was located to where the house was. As I read the next part I felt chills racing down my spine. When new owners took over the Royal Trenton Arms and decided to re-model the hotel, construction workers found bullet holes under the wall paper. There were pictures of Al Capone with an 8 year old Jimmy Hoffa and his mother which gave the appearance of a wedding having taken place. That was a year after Hoffa's father was killed in an unexplained coal mining accident. It is also rumored that when Jimmy Hoffa disappeared on 30th July, 1975, that it was to the hotel where his mother secretly married Al Capone.

I scrolled down and froze. There in black in white was a picture of my house with a caption under it that read Al Capone's summer home in Jersey. I scrolled down further and the picture of the Royal Trenton Arms made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. Then there was an overview of the area. I saved the information and shut down the computer. I needed a change of scene. I stood and Cal set down his book. He stood and hurried over to me. "Are you okay Bomber?"

I gave him a puzzled look and asked, "Why?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

I smiled weekly, "I found some really strange information. I have a feeling it's true. I'm going downstairs to see how the guys are coming along."

Cal nodded, "Alright. Let's go."

We headed down to the basement where we found Bobby, Lester, Tank and Ranger all working to get a door opened. It was in a section of the basement we had yet to explore. They had the clear outline of a door exposed, but all their force was having no affect. I smiled as I saw Joyce and Lula both standing there with their hands on their hips and irritated expressions on their faces. Lula took a step forward and said, "Tankie, I'm tellin' ya that ain't the way….."

Tank turned and smiled through gritted teeth, "Mama Bear, we know what we are doing."

Lula shook her head and came over to me, "They never listen."

I checked out the wall and noticed that although there was the outline of a door, this wall didn't really seem to fit the requirements for a trap door. I had a thought and pointed to the right. There was an old fireplace that looked misplaced for some reason. Lula nodded, "That's what we been tryin' to tell um. Joyce pointed it out about half an hour ago but these four seem to think they know best."

I moved over to the fireplace and stepped up to take a closer look at the wall around it. I gave a light scream when the wall moved. All four guys whipped their heads in my direction and hurried over. Ranger wrapped his arms around me and I held on for dear life. Les looked into the area behind the wall and said, "HOT DAMN! Beautiful's done it again."

Lula and Joyce looked at him with narrowed eyes. The guys all took out their meg-light flashlights and we made our way behind the wall. There was a narrow room with an odd looking machine at one end. I walked over with Ranger and Cal beside me. I reached out a hand and moved a lever. The machine sprang into action and one section pressed down on a sheet of paper that was rolled out. My eyes widened as I took a look at what was on the paper. If I didn't know better I would say I was looking at real $50 bills.

Cal whistled. "It's a printing press. From the looks of it, I'd say this is from the 1920's."

I looked up at Ranger, "I found out some very interesting information on Al Capone and Jimmy Hoffa in relation to the house."

Ranger's eyes narrowed, "Maybe your dad was on about what he said last night."

"Wait until you see the aerial view. I think you'll find it especially interesting."

Joyce was checking out an alcove area and suddenly disappeared. Chester was close behind her and he called out, "Hey guys, over here. I think Joyce found something."

We all made our way over and one by one stepped through to the room beyond. My first thought when I saw what was on the other side was '_Oh SHIT_!'

Unknown POV:

I couldn't believe my little Mary Lou was stuck behind bars. From everything I'd heard the D.A. had an air-tight case. My eyes narrowed as I fed Mr. Jingles. "Don't worry; I have a plan to free my little bird. You'll have a treat as well. Won't that be nice?"

_The real name of the hotel was the Royal Pines Hotel. The front of the brochure boasted fine dining and dancing. The brochure had many pictures of the hotel in all its Art Deco splendor, including a grand view of the "Indian Room", the Mediterranean-style solarium, and tiled outdoor patio. The pictures also sowed manicured Crystal Lake in its heyday, with guest swimming and gondolas gliding across the water's surface. The "hospital" that Capone supposedly built was the Bayview Convalescent Home which had previously been the Royal Pines Hotel. (Taken from Weird NJ)._


	43. Underground Home

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 43: Underground Home

Stephanie's POV:

As I entered the room I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was a sarcophagus in the middle of the room with a plaque of some type on what looked like a monument. I clutched Ranger's arm as we made our way closer. Bobby took something out of his pocket and wiped off the plaque. I watched as he shook his head and said, "I'll be damned."

My eyes widened as I asked, "What does it say?"

Bobby turned and looked at me. His eyes were filled with disbelief and excitement. A weird combination but he somehow pulled it off. He turned back to the plaque and read, "Here lies the remains of Jimmy Hoffa who died this date, September the 23, 1987. Beloved step-son of Al Capone. He spent his last remaining years in this summer home of his childhood."

Lula was standing at the sarcophagus and asked, "Where's his remains? I don't see no remains."

Joyce motioned to the sarcophagus and Lula jumped. Unfortunately she lost her footing and landed against the sarcophagus and it tipped on its side. The lid slid open and out rolled the preserved body of Jimmy Hoffa. I turned my head into Ranger and closed my eyes. Hoffa looked unnaturally alive. Lula started screaming and waving her arms up and down as she ran around the room crashing into things. Tank was just about to grab her when she crashed into a part of the wall and the wall moved, opening into yet another secret area below the house.

The guys righted the sarcophagus and put the body back inside before reclosing the lid. Then we made our way towards the new area that had yet to be explored. I was amazed there was so much unknown under my house. I looked up at Ranger and asked, "Does this mean I have to register the house in the historical society? I'd really hate to do that because they can be such pains if you want to remodel. My friend Sandy was telling me you have to get permission for everything you do. Her house has been in the registry for 5 years and she says it's a real pain in the ass."

"I don't know Babe. I can have my lawyer check into it."

I sighed. There was no way I was letting the historical society stop me from doing what I planned. Maybe we could keep all this quiet until my plans were complete. I'd already talked to the guys that had remodeled the house and it was all a go. They'd already started construction. I'd even gone so far as to contact the architect that had drawn up the plans. Suddenly I had another thought. "Uh, Ranger?"

"What Babe?"

"Can we get in trouble if we don't let the police know what we found?"

Ranger grinned, "They'd have to prove we knew anything Babe. The guys and I can take care of no one finding out."

I shook my head and said, "I don't think that would work. What about Lula?"

Ranger grimaced, "Good point. Maybe we can keep this low key."

About that time our attention focused on the passageway where we were going as it was harder going and required our whole attention. Without warning Bobby, who was in the lead dropped out of sight. We all froze. Ranger squeezed my hands to reassure me and then moved forward to see what happened to Bobby. He used his flashlight to investigate the area. I was starting to get weird vibes and inched my way closer to Ranger. I added my flashlight to Ranger's giving us more light. Finally, Ranger pointed and said, "Over there."

I looked down about eight feet and to the left and saw Bobby sitting up, shaking his head. I asked, "Are you alright?"

Bobby raised his arm and waved. "Yeah. You guys aren't going to believe this though."

"What?"

"There's an underground house down here."

I looked around, "How are we supposed to get down there?"

Bobby looked around and pointed to a spot to our left. "There's a set of stairs in the wall over there that leads down here. It looks pretty solid."

Ranger's eyes narrowed and I knew he was planning on being the next one down there. For one, someone had to go down to check on Bobby and he would insist on going before anyone else. I was about to speak up when Joyce said, "I can do it."

We all looked at her and she nodded, "Trust me. I can make it down there."

Ranger looked to me and I nodded. Lester took off the backpack he'd been carrying and dug out a rope. He fashioned a knot with two loops and helped Joyce into it. She tried to argue she didn't need it but Lester said, "Just a safety precaution."

Joyce nodded, "Alright."

Once she had her legs through the two loops she grabbed onto the rope and gave a nod. They guys gave her the slack she needed as she made her way over to the narrow stairway. She made her way down slowly and once she was at the bottom she climbed out of the loops and went over to check Bobby over. When she touched his ankle, even with the lighting we could see there was something wrong. Joyce looked up, "I think his ankle is broken. Other than that he's okay."

Ranger's eyes narrowed, "Well, we can either try and get him back up here and take him back the way we came, or we can hall him out the rest of the way with us."

Just then Bobby spoke up from below, "If you ask me I say keep going. If I have to deal with a broken ankle, I'd like to have a story to tell about it."

Ranger looked at the rest of the guys and they all nodded. He answered Bobby, "Alright. We'll do it that way."

Over the next 30 minutes we each took our turn making it down the stairs. Tank was the last one down the stairs and for a big guy he sure was nimble on his feet. Les had gone down next after Joyce and he splinted Bobby's ankle and fashioned a carry that would help the guys with carrying Bobby the rest of the way out. Lester was the first one taking a turn at helping Bobby. Ranger and I were in the lead and although that wasn't my favorite place, I preferred it to being separated from Ranger. The underground house was unbelievable. There was a large common room with several alcove-like areas. In the middle of the dirt floor there was a campfire ring with a big cooking pot set beside it. As we entered there was a feeling of displeasure. I wanted nothing more than to run back the way we had come, but determined to stay with the others. I wondered why the house had been designed this way and used my flashlight to take a closer look at the walls.

I noticed drawings on the wall and leaned in closer. Ranger noticed what I was looking at and came closer to get a better look. His sudden, "Deuce!" surprised us all.

Chester Deuce came forward and peered in where Ranger was indicating. "Holy hell!"

After several seconds of silence I rolled my eyes and said, "We need a little more info here. What?"

Chester shook his head, "Sorry. These are Delaware cave drawings. From this passage here, the people who lived in his hideaway were being hunted by settlers after a band of young Delaware bucks wiped out an entire family. From the looks of this I would say it was written about 1745."

Lula asked, "How long you think this'll take 'cause I'm getting a might hungry."

Cal suggested, "I could light a fire to make reading the walls go faster."

Chester nodded to Ranger and Ranger said, "Go ahead. We might as well take a short break and eat something."

Lula raced to be near the campfire, "Oh goody! What do we have?"

From my vantage point beside Ranger I saw Tank's shoulders shaking silently. I poked Ranger in the side and whispered, "What's so funny?"

Ranger nuzzled my neck, "The only food we brought with us is jerky stix with cheese twisted in."

I wrinkled my nose, "You mean you didn't think to bring anything else?"

Ranger winked at me and reached into his pocket and pulled out a baggie. I opened it and held it up to my nose and sniffed. I smiled at Ranger and took a big bite of my peanut butter and olive sandwich. Ranger took out a thing of tasty jerky and pulled off a bite. Joyce's eyes lit up when she was handed one of the stix but Lula wasn't impressed.

Lula wrinkled her nose, "What's that shit?"

Tank looked like he was biting his cheek to keep from laughing, "That's what we're eating for lunch."

"I can't eat shit like that! It don't digest in me like it does in all you. In me it'll just sit there like a rock and I'll get all sick feelin'."

Tank had a piece in his hand and held it out to Lula, "You sure? That's all we brought."

Just then Lula started sniffing. I took my last bite of my sandwich at the same moment Lula turned and stared right at me. She stalked over and said, "I thought you said you didn't bring noting else. What's Stephanie eatin' then? I smell peanut butter and I best be getting' me some o that or somebody goin' to pay."

I smiled weakly, "Uh gee, sorry Lula. I didn't know you wanted any."

Lula glared and me and then she turned to Ranger, "You brung it didn' ya?"

Ranger lifted an eyebrow, "It's my responsibility to look out for Stephanie. It's Tank's responsibility to look out for you."

I could swear I heard Tank mumble, "Gee thanks Rangeman, throw me under the bus why don't you?"

Lula turned on Tank and slapped her hands on her hips, "You mean ta tell me Batman brings a sandwich for his woman and you don't even bother to bring somthin' 'cept lame ass jerky stix for yo woman?"

Tank sent a glare to Ranger and then said, "I was going to Mama Bear but we didn't have much notice that you were coming."

Lula waved towards Ranger, "And what says he had more plannin' time?"

"He knew Steph would probably be coming with, after all it is her house."

She glared at him, "Well that's just lame ass you ask me."

About that time Chester Deuce walked over to where we were sitting. He sat down by Joyce and I noticed the way she smiled shyly at him and his eyes lit up. She held out the packet of jerky she was holding and he took a piece. He bit off the end and chewed for several minutes before swallowing and saying, "This was a dwelling built by three Delaware families to hide out. They lived here for nearly 11 years before being found and relocated to Wisconsin. In their time here they explored and there was only this cavern like area down here. No other tunnels in this direction. But there is a picture of the stairway leading down here and a pathway past the stairs leading down. On the other side is a sea of darkness. My guess is they never went in that direction. If we continue then that would be the direction to go. They also fashioned a tunnel to the outside world. We can get out there or we can continue following the path."

Ranger nodded. "As soon as we finish eating we'll head out. Since we'd have to take Brown back up this might be the time to send him back. We could take him through the tunnel and get him outside."

"I heard that and I say we continue on without sending someone to take me back."

I looked around and noticed something odd over by one of the alcove like areas. I got up and made my way over. There lying against the wall was what I assumed made due as crutches back in the 1750's. I lifted them up and asked, "You think these would come in handy?"

Bobby grinned, "Bomber, that they will."

It looked like the others were done so we stood and headed back towards the stairs. To make the trip up easier on Bobby, Tank lifted him onto his back and went up after Ranger. Ranger figured if Tank lost his footing then he could help the two of them stay on the path. Not wanting to be too far away from Ranger I agreed to carry the flashlights and go up first and Cal followed Tank. Once we were up on top again, the rest made their way up. Poor Tank had to go back down to help Lula up and at one point she nearly took them over the side when her shoe heel broke. Once they were up with the rest of us Lula started going on about how she was going to walk with one busted heel. Tank lifted her foot that had the intact heel on it and removed it from her foot. He broke the heel off and then replaced it on her foot.

Lula screeched, "Why'd you want ta go and do a thin' like that for Tankie? Them's my bestest shoes and now they notin' but lame ass non-shoes."

Tank sighed, "Just trying to help Mama Bear."

Lula jutted her bottom lip out in a pout. It was all I could do not to laugh at the expression on her face. I knew better though. When Lester started laughing Lula sent him a slitty-eyed look and then her eyes narrowed even more. She walked over to Les and swung her purse back and cold-cocked him on the side of the head, knocking him out.

Bobby hobbled over and checked Les out. He shook his head and said, "Glass jaw. He'll be okay but we can't go nowhere till he comes around."

While Bobby worked at waking Les up, the rest of us were looking towards the path we would be traveling. After another 5 minutes Les finally came around. He shook his head and muttered, "Remind me not to piss her off no more."

We headed out with Ranger in the lead and I was close behind.

_Okay, the characters ambushed me and took the story in a direction I wasn't planning. I'm hoping to finish what they find underground in the next chapter if the characters co-operate. (I thought we were done with Al Capone and then Jimmy Hoffa in the room with the sarcophagus.)_


	44. Danger in the Pit

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 44: Danger in the Pit

Stephanie's POV:

It seemed like we walked forever along the passageway before it gave way to another room. There was a strange feeling in the room but I wouldn't exactly say it was unwelcoming. We all fanned out and started looking around the room. There was a chair on the one wall and Bobby sat down to take a well-earned rest. He slipped a pill packet from his backpack and took the pills, swallowing them down with bottled water. We all took water bottles out and took drinks. I couldn't believe everything we were finding. We had been resting about 10 minutes when I saw something sticking out of a part of the wall. I stood and walked over, gently taking hold of the paper and pulling. It came out easily enough and when I read what was on it I was stunned.

Ranger came up from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist. "What did you find Babe?"

I showed him and he raised an eyebrow. "Guess we won't have to tell the Historical Society. At least one of them knows about this room if nothing else."

I frowned, "I have plans for my land and I don't want them coming in and ruining things."

Ranger kissed my cheek, "My lawyer will help you Babe."

I stuffed the paper in my pocket trying to forget the words I'd read. _The Historical Society of Trenton New Jersey has finally found a gold mine! By insisting on eminent domain sighting the current owner's lack of care for the history of the place we will take over the entire property and be wealthy in no time. I will then have access to unlimited funds._

By now some of the others were up and looking around. We needed to find the way forward or we would have to go back the way we came. Suddenly Joyce spoke up, "I found something!"

We all went over to what looked like a fake window. It was slightly ajar. Tank and Ranger worked together to open the window all the way and Ranger looked through to the other side. "Looks like we have more tunnel to get through."

Ranger climbed through and the rest of us followed. Tank lifted Bobby and sent him through feet first with Ranger on the other side to ease him down. It didn't take long for us to all get through and once we did we headed out. The part we were traveling through gave the impression of not having been gone through. It was darker in here and the passageway was much narrower. There was barely enough room for Tank to get through.

We walked on for what seemed like hours and when Ranger stopped ahead of me I asked, "What is it."

"There's a ladder up ahead. Looks to be a circular room with a ladder heading up. Nothing else."

"Do you think we are at the end of the passageway?"

I could barely make out his nod, "I think so Babe."

Ranger took something out of his backpack and tossed it into the area ahead of him. There was a splash. Ranger took his flashlight and aimed it into the area before turning and holding out his hand for my flashlight. I handed it to him without question and he aimed it alongside the other one into the area. I couldn't stand not knowing what was going on and finally I asked, "What is it?"

Ranger turned back to the rest of us. "There's a floor rim around the area ahead of us but I'm not sure how wide it is or how stable. In the middle of the area is a pool of water that doesn't look good. We have to make sure we don't get wet."

We all took deep breaths. Ranger continued, "I'll go first. Stephanie will hold both flashlights on me so it will light up the way I am going. Once I have made the climb and made sure we have a way out above, I'll call back for her to follow. Each time someone comes forward the next person will hold the flashlights on them."

Lester looked around and said, "We all know I'm the best at seeing in the dark. I'll go last."

Although I could sense the others wanted to argue they remained silent. I looked at Bobby and asked, "What about Bobby?"

Bobby winked and replied, "Don't worry about me Bomber. I made it through numerous missions and a few times I was in worse condition than this and the things I had to do were a hell of a lot harder as well. I'll be just fine."

"Fine. Then you and I will go together. Once you are up I'll follow."

I aimed the flashlight at the floor of the area so Ranger could see where he was going. He made it to the ladder without any troubles. Once he was at the top, he took something out of the utility belt to create an opening up there. He disappeared through the whole and it was several tense moments later before he looked back down at us.

Ranger had a mega flashlight in his hand and when he turned it on it lit the whole area of the area ahead of us. I looked down at the floor and screamed. Ranger aimed the light at the area I was looking at and that's when the others saw them. There was an open tank of some type in the middle of the floor ahead of us. Ranger was right when he said we didn't want to go in there. There were at least a dozen piranha swimming around in the tank and they were as big as Tank's hands. We looked at each other and knew what would happen if one of us slipped and landed in that water.

I looked at Bobby and said, "Okay, let's get this show on the road."

Bobby took a deep breath and started moving sideways around the area to the ladder. He was about two feet from the ladder when his ancient crutch slipped and he started to go forward. I grabbed onto his belt and jerked him back as hard as I could. Bobby was able to right himself and we continued on. Once he was on the ladder I waited where I was for him to climb up. He was about a fourth of the way up when one of the piranha jumped out of the water in my direction.

Without looking away from the monsters in the tank I called out to Bobby, "Hurry up if you can."

He looked down to tell me he was hurrying as fast as he could when another piranha jumped out of the water in my direction and this one was closer. Bobby called back, "Gotcha Bomber. Hurrying faster."

With that he used his hands to pull himself steadily higher while his legs dangled. I had a feeling Bobby was putting himself in considerable danger to get to the top faster so it would be safer for me to head up. As soon as he was close, Ranger grabbed him and pulled him the rest of the way up. As soon as Ranger had a hold of Bobby he called down to me, "Start climbing _now _Stephanie."

I climbed onto the ladder at the exact moment one of the piranha jumped out of the water and hit the wall behind where I had been standing. It flopped around until it was back in the water and I concentrated on climbing to the top. Once I was through, each of the others took their turn traversing the room to the ladder. It took nearly 45 minutes before everyone was above ground and safe. With the light Ranger had, Lester had no trouble making his way to the ladder. Once he had joined the rest of us, Ranger found a board to place over the hole. We all looked around and I had a feeling with all the construction taking place in this area that I knew exactly where we were. Ranger looked around and there was a slight wistful look in his eyes before his blank expression slammed down. I knew I was going to have to make a phone call when we returned to the house, and while I had them on the phone I was going to see if they could step up construction. I didn't want them cutting corners, but I would pay for more workers so they could get done faster. I had a feeling I was going to be in court in the near future and I wanted this done.

I looked around and as far as the eye could see there was nothing but the construction. I looked to Ranger, "Okay Batman, any idea which way we should go?"

Ranger gave me a look that made me laugh. He pulled me to him and wrapped his arm affectionately around my neck pulling me into him and kissing the top of my head. "Smart ass."

I looked up at him and grinned, "I thought you liked my ass."

Ranger's eyes darkened as he leaned closer and whispered, "Oh I more than like your ass Babe."

I felt the heat all the way to my doodah. There was a throat clearing and Ranger turned to Tank and gave a minute nod. We headed off in one direction and I hoped Ranger knew where we were going. The way the sun was positioned I would guess it was nearing 5 p.m. I sure hoped Grandma was more understanding about us not being there right at 6 p.m. then my mother had ever been. When the house finally came into sight, Grandma was standing on the front porch and Chester Rodriguez was seated in a chair on the porch along with my dad and Binkie. They were all looking a little worried. When they saw us their faces lit up with smiles.

Ranger and I stepped up on the porch and Grandma smiled, "I figured you'd be running late. You have 30 minutes to get cleaned up for dinner."

"Thanks Grandma." I grinned, "You won't believe what we found down there."

Grandma's eyes lit up, "If you found a dead body you better plan on taking me to see it before you tell anyone else."

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Lula spoke up before anyone else had a chance, "We found a body in a coffin Granny, and a money printing press."

Grandma's eyes widened before she looked at me and said, "I'll expect to see all this right after breakfast tomorrow."

I grinned and nodded. "Alright Grandma."

We all headed in to shower and change for dinner. I stepped into our shower first and when Ranger joined me I told him, "We'll never make dinner in time if we shower together."

Ranger grinned and lifted me till I was resting just above where he most wanted me. "Don't worry Babe. We'll be downstairs with a second to spare."

He lowered me and my eyes rolled back in my head with pleasure as he set a fast pace to get us where we both wanted to be. Sure enough, we took our seats at the table with exactly 1 second to spare.

_In case you are wondering what it was about the room that gave Stephanie a funny feeling, it was the note being left there and perhaps the signature or leftover presence of the person that left it. Next up is the trial._


	45. Mr Jingles

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. __**I have to thank lunjul for asking the question, how did the piranha stay alive? And a special thanks to RubyBabe for the answer. You Rock! Thanks!**_

Chapter 45: Mr. Jingles

Stephanie's POV:

Next morning sure enough, we no more than finished breakfast and Grandma was hurrying us down to the basement so we could show here where the body was. She was quite impressed with the body of Jimmy Hoffa and after giving it a thorough once over she was ready to go back upstairs. Ranger called his lawyer and he drove out to talk with me. I was exceptionally pleased to know that even if the house was registered with the registry, it didn't mean I couldn't make whatever changes I wanted to the property. I showed the lawyer the note and he said he would start working on making sure he had whatever he needed to fight the society if they tried to take the property. I showed him my ace in the hole and he agreed he thought we had a slam dunk case.

After the excitement of Saturday, we all relaxed on Sunday. Bobby's left ankle was definitely broken and he had it casted. What we found at the end of our trip had all of us thinking, and Ranger had asked me if he could check into it. I agreed. I was as anxious to find out who had put them there as well. I talked with my dad before calling the construction crew and daddy said he'd be glad to oversee things so everything got done sooner and agreed with the no cutting corners. When it was time for bed Sunday night I was more quiet than usual. I wasn't looking forward to going to court tomorrow and sitting through Mary Lou's trial.

We were friends once and I still missed her friendship at times. I also knew Carl would be returning for the trial and I wasn't sure how that was going to go either. That night when we made our way up to the apartment, Ranger wrapped his arm around my waist and said, "Don't worry Babe. I'll be right there with you. Cal will be watching your back as well."

I leaned into Ranger and said, "I know you'll be there and so will Cal. I just wish it was all over. I can't get rid of this feeling that something awful is going to happen tomorrow."

Ranger kissed my temple. We entered the apartment and he pulled me into his arms. I reached up and kissed him. When we came up for air I said, "Make love to me Batman. Make me forget all about what's coming tomorrow."

Ranger's eyes darkened and he lifted me in his arms and carried me to the bed. I never gave the trial a second thought all night long. The next morning when I got up, I took care in my preparation for the courthouse. I chose a pair of black slacks, a pretty rose sleeveless sweater over a white blouse, and 2" black shoes. I took time with my hair and was able to tame it with the gel I get from Mr. Alexander. I added a light coat of makeup and stopped at only 2 coats of mascara. When Ranger saw me come out of the bathroom, his eyes darkened.

He went to lean towards me and I held up my hand and said, "It took me too long to look like this. I can't afford to have you get friendly right now. I promise to make it up to you tonight."

Ranger put his hands on my waist as he leaned in and whispered, "I'll hold you to that Babe."

We made our way downstairs and Grandma had outdone herself with breakfast. She made chocolate chip pancakes and homemade syrup. Once I had eaten I went to the bathroom and cleaned up. When I came back out it was time to go. Grandma gave me a hug and I got an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I turned to Chester Rodriguez and gave him a stern look. "I expect you to watch Grandma like a hawk. I have a bad feeling and I don't want anything happening to her."

Chester nodded. I knew he would protect her, but…. Ranger took hold of my hand and asked if we were ready to go. I nodded and allowed him to take me out to the Turbo. He helped me in the passenger seat and then got in behind the wheel and drove us to the court house. Ranger took me to a side entrance and when I gave him a questioning look he explained he had clearance for the side entrance so he would be able to be dressed in the courthouse. Understanding dawned and I nodded. We made our way to the right courtroom and Ranger found us a seat behind the D.A.

When they brought Mary Lou in I noticed she didn't look well. She gave me a hard, cold look and I tried my best to ignore her. Over the next 4 hours I watched witness after witness testify. We broke for lunch and then came back for another 4 hours of testimony. Towards the end of the day I was starting to get edgy. I had this awful feeling something had happened. The judge called the trial till the next morning and Ranger and I left the courtroom and I saw Cal shadowing us. We no more than got outside when Ranger got a call on his phone. I watched as his jaw clenched and he said, "Alright Bobby. Keep me informed on how Chester's doing."

As soon as Ranger turned to me I demanded, "What's happened to my Grandma?"

Ranger pulled me into his arms and said, "She's been kidnapped Babe."

My eyes widened and I felt like the bottom of my world had dropped out from under me. Ranger pulled me close and we headed towards the Turbo. In no time we were at the house. On the way Ranger explained that Grandma went to do the grocery shopping and when they got to the store and were walking in, someone knocked Chester out from behind and when he came to Grandma was nowhere to be found. The guys were out looking for clues now and he had Hector and Diaz on Mary Lou's cousin.

Daddy arrived home sometime later and when I told him what had happened to Grandma he added to our worry by asking where Joyce was. I admitted I didn't know. She and Chester Deuce weren't here when we arrived. Ranger called Chester Deuce but he wasn't getting an answer. He turned to Cal and narrowed his eyes, "Keep her safe no matter what."

Cal nodded. I latched onto Ranger and asked, "Where are you going?"

Ranger pulled me to him, "Don't worry Babe. I'll be fine. Cal's going to stay here with you. You'll be safe."

I clung to him. He leaned down and whispered gently, "It's alright Babe."

I looked up at him, "Don't get shot Batman."

He smiled, "Don't go crazy Babe."

I released him and he headed out. I sat down on the sofa and tried not to think the worst. A few minutes later Lula walked in and she looked pale as a ghost. She gave Cal a funny look and skirted him to sit down beside me. Daddy had gone out to walk around and see if he could find any sign of Joyce and Binkie was shadowing him. I looked over at Lula and asked, "What's wrong."

Lula looked to Cal and smiled weakly, "Uh, ya think ya could get me a glass o water?"

Cal hesitated and then nodded and went to the kitchen for some water. As soon as he left the room, Lula turned to me and whispered, "I got a call sayin' if you want Granny back alive you need to go to this address I got on South Broad." She looked over her shoulder and checked to make sure Cal wasn't back yet. "He said you had ta make sure none o them guys in black was with you."

I bit my lip and asked, "Do you have your stun gun?"

"Yeah. What you goin' to do?" she asked as she handed me the gun.

At that moment Cal came back in with Lula's water and he brought it over to her. He reached out and handed her the glass. I waited till she took the glass and put the stun gun against his arm and pressed the juice. Cal's eyes rolled back in his head and he landed on the floor. I handed Lula back the stun gun and grabbed my purse. I stood and said, "Come on."

"Where we goin'?"

"To get grandma." We were about to leave the house when my phone buzzed. I took it out and connected the call. "Hello?"

"Babe. You were right about the cousin. Mortimer Gonzolez, better known as Chopper was seen leading your Grandma away from the store. Hector has a listing on South Broad for him which we checked out but the only thing there was a six-foot alligator named Mr. Jingles according to his food bowl. We're still looking Babe. We'll find her."

"I have a feeling about the apartment."

"We'll double check it after we check on the next lead."

With that he hung up. I tossed my phone back into my purse. I turned to Lula and said, "We gotta get going before Cal wakes up. Hope he's not too upset. Ranger said Chopper isn't at the South Broad location. Are you sure that's where he said to go?"

"I'm sure white girl. He said if you want Granny you gotta go there. Maybe he left the apartment unlocked."

I nodded and we headed towards Lula's Firebird. In no time we were pulling up to the address. Suddenly something Ranger told me was starting to register. I turned to Lula and said, "We need to run through Cluck-in-a-bucket."

Lula grinned, "Now you talkin' girl."

Lula pulled into the drive through and I ordered two buckets of extra crispy to go. As soon as I had the buckets Lula pulled out of the drive through and headed back to South Broad. She reached over to the bucket and I slapped her hand. She sent me a look and asked, "Why ya want ta do that fo?"

"We need to use this chicken to distract Mr. Jingles."

"Who's Mr. Jingles?"

"Chopper's pet alligator."

Lula's eyes widened and she demanded, "Say what?"

"Don't worry, this will work."

We got out of the car and made our way to Chopper's apartment. Sure enough, the door was unlocked. I opened it and Lula and I walked into the apartment. My grandma was sitting on a chair on top the dining room table and she was all tied up and her mouth was taped shut. Her eyes widened when she saw us and I sent her a finger wave.

I crept in and looked around. No sign of the alligator, although the room smelled gamey. I walked farther into the apartment and there he was…over six feet of alligator behind the couch that sat in the middle of the room. His eyes were open, and he was looking at me.

"G-g-g-gator," I whispered to Lula.

"I see him," Lula said. "Where you want to go first? You want me to get him to the other side of the room?"

"Yeah, that would be good."

"Fetch," Lula said. And she threw a piece of chicken across the room. It hit the wall and fell to the floor, leaving a big grease splotch on the wall.

Mr. Jingles swiveled his head toward the chicken but didn't move.

"What the heck kind of gator is this?" Lula said. "This here's Cluck-in-a-Bucket chicken. You don't let Cluck-in-a-Bucket chicken hit the floor and lay there. This here's extra crispy."

"Throw one closer."

She threw a piece right at him. It hit him in the head and bounced off. Snap, he ate it.

"Did you see that?" Lula said. "He didn't even taste that chicken. What's with that?"

"Drop one a couple feet over."

"You bet," Lula said. "Here you go, big guy. Here's a wing."

The gator moved his body in slow motion, making a right turn, and then he lunged and snap. Good-bye wing.

"Whoa," Lula said. "I don't like the way he can do that lunge thing. That's like the death lunge."

She threw a leg close to the wall, and Mr. Jingles scrabbled after it, moving faster, catching on to the game.

"Hurry up and go around the other side of the couch," Lula said to me. "Good thing we got two buckets of chicken. Mr. Jingles isn't exactly a dainty eater."

I ran around the couch, keeping an eye on Mr. Jingles. I hurried over to the dining room table and climbed on top the table. I worked at freeing Grandma, finally managing to get her free and then I gently removed the tape. I looked around to place the alligator. Mr. Jingles was stalking Lula around the couch. Lula was throwing chicken everywhere, and Mr. Jingles would snap it up and come back at Lula.

"I'm running outta chicken," Lula yelled. "What the heck am I supposed to do when I run outta chicken?"

"How much chicken do you have left?"

"Four pieces."

"Try to get him back to the other side of the room so I can get Grandma out of here."

"Okay, but hurry up. I don't like the way he's lookin' at me."

Lula threw a thigh across the room. Mr. Jingles gave the chunk of chicken a cursory glance and turned his attention back to Lula.

"Uh-oh," Lula said. "I think he's figured out the chicken comes from the bucket."

"Then throw the bucket across the room. Just don't leave me trapped here."

Lula whistled. "Here boy. Nice Mr. Jingles. Go get the bucket." Lula wound up to throw the bucket, and Mr. Jingles lunged at her. "Yow!" Lula said, staggering back, falling over the ottoman.

The chicken bucket flew out of her hand, hit the open door, and bounced off onto the porch. Mr. Jingles rushed after the bucket, ate the bucket, ate the remaining three pieces, and lumbered down the stairs.

Grandma and I were off the table and Lula was off the floor, and we were mouths-open, watching Mr. Jingles step onto the cement pad at the bottom of the stairs and amble across the yard to the black SUV that had just pulled up with Cal at the wheel. He powered up the windows and looked at us with a what-the-fuck expression. Mr. Jingles nosed the SUV and Cal glared at him, and he waddled over to the Firebird and snap. The tire exploded and Mr. Jingles shook his head and waddled off down the alley.

"This ain't good," Lula said. "Chopper gonna be mad you let his alligator lose."

"I'm not worried about Chopper. I'm worried about the dogs and cats and kids in the neighborhood."

"Maybe we should call the alligator police," Lula said.

Someone screamed half a block away.

"Okay, I guess we don't have to call the police," Lula said. "And it looks like Cal's on the phone. I don't imagine he's ordering pizza. We should finish up here."(_pg. 186-189 SS_)

The three of us headed down the stairs towards the SUV. Cal got out of the SUV when we neared and narrowed his eyes at me. "You and your grandma are riding with me. And before you try anything else, I just got done talking to Ranger."

I sighed. "It wouldn't do me any good anyway. The firebird lost a tire."

Once we were in the SUV I turned to the backseat where Grandma was beside Lula and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. But he still has Joyce and he said he's going to feed her to his other pets."

Lula's eyes bugged out, "He has other pets aside from Mr. Jingles?"

I had a sudden thought. I pulled out my phone and called Ranger. When he answered with his "Yo."

"Hey Batman. I had a sudden thought."

_The excerpt from SS was altered slightly to add Grandma and Cal and Connie isn't in the picture. Most of it is from the book though. One saved and one to go, plus a trial to finish._


	46. The Trial

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. __**I have to thank lunjul for asking the question, how did the piranha stay alive? And a special thanks to RubyBabe for the answer. You Rock! Thanks!**_

Chapter 46: The Trial

Stephanie's POV:

Grandma was looking a little pale so once I hung up from talking to Ranger we ran her by the hospital. When I told Ranger I was taking Grandma to the hospital he said he would call ahead and arrange for Caesar and Chet to guard her. I told Cal what our plans were and in no time he was pulling into St. Francis's lot. He helped me get Grandma inside and Lula promised to let me know if anything happened. I gave Grandma a hug and told her I would be back as soon as I could and that Lula would be right with her.

Grandma patted my cheek and smiled. "You go find that sister of yours. You bring her home."

I nodded, "I will Grandma."

I walked over to where Cal was talking to Caesar and Chet and I asked, "You ready to go Cal?"

Cal frowned, "Where we going Bomber?"

"We're meeting Ranger out at the construction site." I turned to the other two and said, "My Grandma is very important to me. I really appreciate you watching over her."

Chet winked, "Don't you worry Steph. We won't let anyone hurt your Grandma."

I nodded and Cal and I were on our way. In no time we were pulling up at the site. I couldn't believe all the work the crew had done in one day. At this rate they would be done in no time. I caught sight of Ranger about the same time as Call pointed in the direction the guys were. Ranger, Tank, Hector, Diaz, Junior, Woody, Chester Deuce, and Hal were all fanned out looking for something. Ranger stopped and turned to us. Cal and I joined him.

Ranger's eyes narrowed on me as we neared him. His, "Babe." had me thinking he was taking me to task for stunning Cal.

I waved my hand in the direction of the tunnel entrance and asked, "Have you found her yet?"

"Not yet Babe."

"Have you tried the tunnel entrance?"

"We were getting ready to do that next, but we want to make sure it's safe before we open it up."

"I know you aren't going to like this, but according to Grandma, Chopper kept her in his truck until you guys left his apartment and then he carried her in and tied her to the chair on the table. She said he was bragging he was two steps ahead of you guys. I don't think he's going to do anything here until you guys leave."

Ranger's eyes narrowed and he nodded, "Alright Babe. We'll try it your way."

Ranger waved the others over and told them we were moving out. He turned to Hector and made a motion. Hector grinned and nodded and disappeared into the night. Ranger put his hand on my waist and the rest of us made our way to the cars. I got in the passenger seat of the Turbo and we all left the area. Once we were out of sight Ranger pulled the Turbo off the road into some nearby trees and cut the engine. Soon the other SUV's were joining us.

I turned to Ranger, "What's going on."

"We're going to wait here Babe. Hopefully Chopper will show soon."

It was already getting dark. We waited around for another hour when suddenly I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach. I turned to Ranger, "Something's going to happen. I got a weird feeling in my stomach."

Ranger reached over and placed his hand on my stomach. My eyes darkened and I had a sudden feeling of such overwhelming love. Our eyes met and held. Suddenly there was a wrap on the window and Ranger looked away and opened his door. Tank's voice was deep as he asked, "Ready to move Rangeman?"

We got out of the car and made our way back to the construction site. We stayed hidden as best we could and as we neared the tunnel entrance we saw a tall form carrying something that was struggling in his hold. Ranger took hold of my arm and pulled me closer to him. We found cover and hunkered down. The form we assumed was Chopper dumped the object he was carrying onto the ground and pulled a knife out. He leaned over what I thought was Joyce and said something I couldn't hear from where I was. Then he turned and worked the cover off the tunnel. As he worked on the cover Joyce slowly moved herself away from him, knowing what was down that hole in the ground.

I had the construction crew put a sturdy lid over the hole with an unbreakable lock. Apparently Chopper was having trouble getting the lock off so I knew the crew had done a good job. Finally, in frustration, Chopper stood and looked around. He went over and picked up an axe. He stalked back over to the cover and started swinging the axe. I shook my head and whispered, "Looks like we're going to need another cover."

Ranger touched my nose with his finger and gave a slight grin. "That's a bit of an understatement Babe."

At that point Joyce was far enough away that we saw one of the other guys come up beside her and grab hold of her under the arms and pull her even farther away. Chopper caught the last of the movement and swung the axe in rage one last time and the cover broke in two and was destroyed. Chopper turned towards the direction Joyce was being pulled and ran towards them with the axe over his head. Ranger told me to stay put and he went to help the guy that was pulling Joyce to safety. He slowly made his way over to Chopper.

At that moment there was a _SNAP_! I turned and my eyes widened. Mr. Jingles was slowly waddling my way. I wasn't sure if he knew I was there but had a horrible feeling he was coming right in my direction. He lifted his nose and I took a quick whiff of my clothes. _SHIT_! Chicken. And I knew how much Mr. Jingles _loved_ chicken. I maneuvered my way as far away from him as I could, not giving thought to the fact I was nearing the opening to the tunnel. I was backing away from the alligator and just as I went to lift my foot to take another step I saw Chopper turn and come at me ranting about what I did to his little Mary Lou and how he was going to feed me and Joyce to his pets. I went to step back and I felt Ranger's gaze on me. He was looking down at the ground and my eyes widened. Instead of going backward I went to the side and started moving a little quicker. I was a little freaked at how close I had come to stepping in the hole when I made my way to the backside of the hole. Mr. Jingles didn't pay attention to the direction I had gone to get where I was, he was focused on where I was and was coming right at me. When he lunged towards me I couldn't help but remember what Lula had said about the death lunge. I backed up quickly and watched as Mr. Jingles came down and lost his balance over the hole.

Mr. Jingles plummeted down the hole. Chopper's eyes widened and he cried out, "_NO_!"

Chopper ran towards me with such rage in his eyes. The axe was over his head and he seemed out of his head. At the last second the pit in front of me registered on his brain and he tried to stop but the momentum was too great and his foot slipped on the edge and he plummeted over the side just as Mr. Jingles had before him.

In seconds Ranger was beside me with a huge meg-light flashlight and he turned the beam to the bottom of the pit where the tunnel passage started. The sight before us was horrible indeed. The water appeared to boil and churn red with blood. They attacked with such ferocity that they stripped their prey of their flesh within a matter of minutes, even taking bites out of each other in the process. It was a feeding frenzy. (_googled on feeding red bellied Piranha_)

I turned my head into Ranger's chest and he wrapped his arms around me. He pulled out his phone and called the police. He had the guys rig up a lighting system so the police would be able to investigate the scene tonight.

Morelli was the first on the scene and when he took a look in the hole he turned and looked at me. His jaw clenched and he went to say something but Ranger interrupted him, "Watch what you say Morelli. It's already been a rough night. Steph's Grandma and Joyce were both kidnapped earlier tonight and she's running on fumes. She may not have the energy to take you on but if you upset her I will personally make you very sorry."

Morelli raised his hands in surrender. "I hear you. Can you tell me what happened?"

While Ranger held me securely in his arms I told Morelli about Lula getting a call from Chopper and our rescuing Grandma and the alligator getting loose and then looking for Joyce and then Mr. Jingles coming after me and falling in the pit and then Chopper going in after him. Morelli looked down in the pit once more and shook his head, "No chance he might have made it is there?"

Ranger looked down and raised an eyebrow, "I seriously doubt it."

Morelli ran his hand through his hair, "Yeah. Didn't think so. Okay, I think we have enough for tonight. Do we have your permission to get that tank out of there?"

I turned to Joe, "Why don't you let my construction crew take care of it. They'll have the knowledge and chances are they're the guys you'd have to call to get it done anyway."

Joe nodded. "Thanks Cupcake."

Ranger walked me over to the Turbo which had been moved closer at some point and we headed back to the house. Chester Deuce took Joyce to the hospital to make sure she was okay. We made our way back to the house and I was glad to see Grandma resting on the sofa with Lula beside her when we got home. Lester and Bobby arrived with pizzas and we all had a bite and headed to bed. What a day. And tomorrow we had to be back in the courtroom.

I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. Ranger held me close all night long. The next morning when we went down for breakfast, the others were all there ahead of us. Ranger had arranged for a couple of extra guys to be on Grandma, Joyce and daddy. Although he didn't think they would be needed he wanted to error on the side of caution. After breakfast, Ranger once again drove us to the courthouse and we entered the side entrance. We made our way to our seats and spent another 8 hours listening to testimony. Carl was called today and it was hard to watch him up there on the stand. Mary Lou was looking at him with a look close to hatred and Carl's eyes were focused on me. I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. When Carl finished he went to step down and suddenly Mary Lou was flying at him. Carl put his arm up reflexively and used his police training to subdue her. She was snarling and screaming that she hated him for not loving her and she wouldn't rest until he was dead along with me.

Ranger's arms tightened around me and the bailiff came over to help restrain her. Mary Lou fought and struggled and finally the judge ordered her to be chained to the chair. I glanced at the jury and noticed they were stunned by her actions. They had been looking at her with sympathy until she attacked Carl and started spouting off about Carl and me. The judge decided a lunch break would be prudent and after the break Mary Lou was chained to the chair. When her lawyer called for Chopper to take the stand and Mary Lou learned he was dead, she totally lost it and had to be removed from the courthouse back to her cell.

It took another three days of testimony before the prosecutor rested his case. Mary Lou's lawyer rested as well and instructions were given to the jury. We left the courthouse and went to Pino's for lunch that 5th day of the trial. We were just finishing up when word came down a verdict had been reached. We made our way back to the courthouse and took our seats. The jury was brought back in and I noticed none of them would look at Mary Lou. Instead they were looking my way. When the judge asked if a verdict had been reached, the foreman stood and said they had reached a verdict. The paper was passed to the judge and then handed back to the foreperson.

The judge asked Mary Lou to rise. Her legs were shackled and her hands handcuffed behind her back. The bailiff helped her to stand. The judge turned to the jury and asked, "In the matter of the City of Trenton vs. Mary Lou Stankovic for the charge, attempted murder in the first degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty as charged."

"For the 1st charge of murder in the first degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty."

"On the 2nd charge of murder in the first degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty as charged."

"On the 3rd charge of murder in the first degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty as charged."

"On the 4th charge of murder in the first degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty as charged."

"On the 5th charge of murder in the first degree how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty as charged."

"On the charge of conspiracy to commit murder 6 counts how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty on all 6 counts."

"On the charge of conspiracy to kidnap how do you find?"

"We find the defendant guilty as charged."

"So say you all?"

"So say we all."

"Thank you for your time ladies and gentlemen. I am ready for the second phase of the trial to go forward. I am ready to determine sentencing. Mary Lou Stankovic, it is the judgment of this court that you be held in the Trenton State Penitentiary for the rest of your natural life without the possibility for parole."

The gavel came down and the trial was over. I leaned into Ranger and closed my eyes. Was it really over? I felt the hatred in Mary Lou's glare as she turned to me and smirked. "You think you've won don't you? Well your troubles aren't over yet! As you'll soon see."

She was led from the courtroom and I looked up at Ranger. He pulled me closer and we made our way out of the courthouse. We were nearing the Turbo when a man stepped up before us. Ranger had his gun trained on him and the man went pale. He raised his hands and said, "I'm just a messenger here." and he handed me an envelope.

I opened the envelope and quickly read the letter inside. I sighed. Ranger looked down and asked, "What is it Babe?"

"The Historical Society is suing me for possession of my property. They state it is a valuable state commodity for its historical value."

Ranger hugged me to him and said, "I'll call my lawyer."


	47. Advice From an Old Man

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. __**I have to thank lunjul for asking the question, how did the piranha stay alive? And a special thanks to RubyBabe for the answer. You Rock! Thanks!**_

Chapter 47: Advice From an Old Man

Stephanie's POV:

That afternoon Ranger took me to his lawyer's office and I showed him the summons. We spent nearly an hour discussing various issues and then finally he told me he had contacted his friend in California that was an ace in regards to cases such as mine. Randolph G. Weathers. He asked if I would allow him to help on the case and I agreed. Mr. Williams then told me to try not worrying about anything and he would keep me up to date on what was happening. Ranger and I left and although I had a feeling things would work out, I just wanted it all to be over.

Ranger took me to Shorty's for a meal and then we headed out to the house. I let the others know about what was going on and my dad got a gleam in his eyes and slipped out of the room. He returned a few minutes later smiling. He patted my head and said, "Don't you worry Pumpkin. We have your back."

I wondered what he meant, but Manny entered the room. Ranger asked, "What did you find out?"

Manny sat down in a chair close by and said, "The tank was 5 feet deep and held 500 gallons of water. Looks like it was specially made for that space and it hasn't been there that long. From evidence I found the tank was placed after Stephanie bought the property. The floor used to be dirt like the rest of the tunnel passages but someone dug down another 5 feet leaving a small ledge around the whole area. Then the tank was assembled and filled through a tube he used to feed them. The tube was big enough for him to flush in live food and there was a flap on the inside of the tank to prevent the Piranha from getting out the tube. My guess is this was the plan all along. Mary Lou planned to torment Stephanie and then once Joyce kidnapped her they planned to tie her up and put her in the pit. I found the feed tube opening and there's what looks like a tree stump several yards away and it has a lever that moves it and exposes the feeding tube. I talked to some experts and they say the Piranha would have turned on each other if they hadn't been fed regularly, but from the amount of carcasses in the tank, at least 3 dozen Piranha remains were found. I think Chopper's been starving them for a 3 or 4 days."

I closed my eyes and leaned against Ranger. If the Piranha were starving that would explain why they were jumping out at me while I was waiting for Bobby to climb up. Ranger pulled me closer and thanked Manny for coming out with the information. Manny nodded and asked, "What should we do with the Piranha?"

My eyes widened, "You mean they're still alive? Didn't the police have to kill them or something?"

Manny shook his head, "Nah. However these ones are illegal. From their markings Chopper had them special ordered and flown in from the Amazon. He even had water from the Amazon River flown in with them. Whatever we do we have to document so the authorities have a record of how they were disposed of."

Ranger narrowed his eyes and asked, "Doesn't that limit our choices?"

Manny shrugged. I talked to the Game Warden and he said we can turn them over to him, kill them and eat them, kill them and sell the meat, or donate them to a Zoo or Aquarium."

Ranger kissed the top of my head and asked, "So what do you think we should do Babe?"

"I like the Zoo or Aquarium choice."

Manny grinned and I asked, "What?"

Manny shrugged, "I won the pool. I bet you wouldn't want to take a chance on someone killing them so you would take the Zoo/Aquarium choice."

I stuck my tongue out at him and he laughed. He stood and nodded to me, "I'll take care of it."

I smiled and said, "Thanks Manny."

He shrugged, "De Nada."

Once Manny left Ranger asked me if I wanted to call it a night. I agreed and we headed up to the third floor. I changed into one of Ranger's t-shirts and he held me close. I wasn't sure I would be able to settle but being in Ranger's arms made me feel safe and loved. I was asleep in no time. I woke for a moment when Ranger slipped out of bed and then sleep claimed me once more. When I finally woke the sun was high in the sky. I frowned wondering why no one woke me. I slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom to answer the call of nature and to shower and dress for work. I made my way downstairs and was surprised to see everyone sitting around the table eating lunch.

I joined them, giving Ranger a kiss on the cheek before sitting down. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Ranger smiled and softly replied, "You've had a rough few days and I thought the sleep would do you good."

I rolled my eyes but smiled and said, "Well I appreciate it. I _was_ kinda tired."

Grandma had fixed hot turkey sandwiches with potatoes and gravy. I fixed my plate and dug in. There was peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert and after we got done eating Ranger asked me if I'd like to take a walk. We headed outside and I leaned against him as he had his arm around my waist. We took our time and walked in a direction I had yet to investigate. It was beautiful with the trees starting to change colors. I was pleasantly surprised when we came to a small lake about a mile and a half from the house. There was a bench along the edge of the water and Ranger and I sat down for a moment. I leaned against him and lifted my feet beside me on the bench. Ranger wrapped both arms around me and rested his chin on the top of my head. My eyes felt droopy and the last I remember was feeling at peace.

I opened my eyes to find an elderly gentleman standing down by the lake. I wondered how he'd gotten there. At that moment he turned and smiled at me and made his way over to where I was sitting with Ranger's arms around me. He looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't place him. I sat up and motioned for him to join us on the bench. He sadly shook his head and looked back towards the lake. I told him my name and asked his. He winked at me and told me I'd figure it out soon enough. He glanced at Ranger and asked me if I would join him in a walk for a minute. I nodded and stood. He held out his arm and I placed my hand on his arm. We walked down towards the water and I suddenly felt quite a bit cooler. I shivered and he offered me his jacket but I assured him I'd be fine for a few minutes.

"You've had a rough week Little Angel, one way or another."

I chuckled, "Most of my weeks are rough ones, just in different ways."

"What are your plans for this land?"

I shrugged, "At first my only interest was the house. Then when I found out Ranger's plans had he bought the house, I wanted to help him build his building. Now that we've found so much below the house…."

"And now the Historical Society is trying to steal the land right out from under you. I'm sorry about that."

"Why should you be sorry?"

"Because I created the passage of law they will use against you. Don't be discouraged though. Mr. Williams has asked the right person for help. He'll be able to find the arguments you need to grind them into dust."

"I'm glad of that. But how do you know?"

"Randolph G. Weathers is well publicized. I've read his work. However, if he gets stuck on the blue factor, tell him to turn it purple."

I gave him a puzzled look and said, "Tell him to turn the blue factor purple?"

The old man nodded. He patted my shoulder. "You'll do fine Little Angel. Now, let's go a little farther along. I have some things to clear up."

"What do you have to clear up?"

"Why, who built the house for one. The house was actually built in 1524 by Giovanni Da Verrazzano."

"So Al Capone didn't build the house for his mother?"

The old man laughed, "Heavens no. He bought the house as it was. He's the one that set up the printing press and started counterfeiting money. Can you believe Capone married Hoffa's mother?" He shook his head.

"What about the underground house?"

He nodded. "That was the next thing to be added after the house. Then the British were locked in the room. The family that owned the house then were in the spirit business. They made fine wines, Scotch and what not. They built the wine cellar. They had tons of bottles they had brought with them from the old country. Then there was the slave room. The people of the house were Union Patriots and helped as many runaway slaves as they could to get free. That's when the first tunnel passage was dug. When Capone took over he built the money room and created the tunnel passage going past the underground house. He wanted to make sure he had a getaway. When Hoffa arrived back in the 70's, he had the Sarcophagus shipped in and set up his tomb. Although Hoffa's body was found here, he didn't live here before his death. Once he built the tomb room and put the Sarcophagus where he wanted, he lived elsewhere till his death. The owner before you bought the house in 1977 and had dreams for the house and land, but they could never be realized. The owner was an amateur architect. He drew his dream for this place but none of his children shared in his dream. All they were interested in was controlling the family money."

The old man sounded so bitter. My heart ached for him. He turned to me and said, "I like what you've done here Little Angel. I like the changes you have made and the ones you are still making. You would have made an old man proud with your vision."

I smiled, "I'm glad you like it." I shivered again and he held out his arm to me.

"We need to go back now before it gets too cold for you. You have a nice young man at your side. I can see your love for each other shining."

I grinned, "We've had our rough spots. But I love him more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone."

The old man nodded, "And it's plain to see he loves you the same way."

"I enjoyed our walk. I'll remember what you told me."

The old man smiled and nodded, "I know you will. One more thing. The girls are sneaky and cruel, but it's the male that is the creature. Beware the creature most of all. He is tied to another."

I met his gaze for several moments before nodding and replying, "I'll remember. Thank you."

He leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. "Tell Edna I regret the past more than she could imagine."

With that he was gone.

_There are several clues in this chapter. I know it's a little shorter than some but this is where I need to wrap it up. I'll give you time to think about how things might play out, so the next chapter will be tomorrow evening some time. I'd love to know what you think. This story will probably (Almost certainly) end at chapter 50. Just giving you all fair warning. If there are any points you are still not clear on please send a review so I can try and clear them up._


	48. Meeting the Society Group

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 48: Meeting the Society Group

Stephanie's POV:

I felt a caress on my cheek and turned towards the touch. My eyes opened and I looked up into Ranger's loving gaze. He smiled down at me and asked, "You finally awake Babe?"

I smiled, "I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep."

He leaned down and kissed me before asking, "You ready to go back to the house?"

"Sure. Did the old man leave?"

Ranger frowned, "What old man Babe?"

"The old man I went for a walk with."

Ranger's gaze held mine for several moments before he said, "Babe, there was no old man here. You were sitting beside me the whole time. As a matter of fact you fell asleep shortly after we sat down."

My eyes widened. Ranger stood and reached out his hand. I placed my hand in his and stood. We walked back towards the house and I had to smile as I saw Grandma standing on the front porch by the door. We stepped up on the porch and I noticed Grandma had a sad, faraway look on her face. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek. She smiled and patted my cheek before stepping back into the house and we followed her.

My eyes widened as I saw the elaborate spread on the table. I turned to Grandma and asked, "Have you been cooking all afternoon?"

She shrugged, "Not all afternoon. I had a short nap after lunch and when I woke up I needed to knock back a melancholy feeling so I got busy doing some good old fashioned Hungarian cooking."

As if a magical chime had rung, everyone started coming into the dining room and taking their seats. Lula's eyes widened and she looked at Grandma, "Think you got enough food here Granny?"

Grandma gave Lula a stern look, "There's plenty more in the kitchen."

Ranger and I joined the others already at the table with Ranger helping Grandma into her chair while I slipped into the chair beside his. We started the meal with Porkolt, a meat stew in a thick paprika-spiced sauce, similar to ragout; generally translated into English as goulash. (not to be confused with goulash soup) With the stew there was Pogacsa, a type of bun, round puffed pastry with bacon, traditionally cooked on the fire. It was delicious. I moaned with my first bite. Once we had finished the stew and bread Lula, Joyce and I helped Grandma take the dishes out to the kitchen and bring in the Becsi szelet which was Wiener schnitzel, but made of pork, Borju becsi (using veal), rantotthus; Rizi-bizi which is a Hungarian risotto, white rice mixed with green peas, served as a side dish; and a crisp romaine lettuce and spinach Caesar salad. There was more bread as well. The food was melt in your mouth good. Although Grandma didn't go all out Hungarian often, when she did it was worth every bite. To round out the meal once we had finished with the main course, Grandma had gotten a selection of cheeses she cut up as well as fruit. It was a refreshing end to the meal. Once we had all finished eating we helped Grandma with the cleanup and then called it a night, each going our own way.

Once we were in the third floor apartment, Ranger lowered his mouth to mine and we spent the night pleasuring each other. In the morning, Ranger woke me early and after trying to convince him he should let me sleep longer he admitted that his lawyer called and wanted us to meet him at his office. Apparently there were three members from the Historical Society that were going to meet with us today. I groaned but managed to get up and ready in time to make it to the lawyer's office.

When we arrived at the office we were shown into a conference room. There were two women and two men. Form their appearance three of them were related and I figured the other male was the lawyer. When we were introduced I was proven correct. The two women and the other male were siblings. They were the three people who ran the Trenton Historical Society. Penelope Farnsworth stood 5' and weighed in at 200 pounds, and she was in her late 50's. She had black hair streaked with gray with brown eyes and her face was overly done in makeup. She was dressed to the nines and looked like she was quite well off. Matilda Jeffers stood 5' 11" and weighed in at around 135 pounds, and she was in her early 50's. She had red hair streaked with gray and green eyes with freckles on her face. She was dressed in a girl next door kind of way with limited makeup. The male of their group, Delbert Stone looked to be in his late 40's and was bald on top and what hair he had was black with gray speckled throughout. He was 5'4" in height and was built like a Penguin. His eyes were a cold gray and he had an animalistic look about his face. He looked like he was dressing beyond his means in a Brioni suit which runs $6000 a suit.

The lawyer on the other hand, Allen Hornsby was in his early 40's with blonde hair and brown eyes and he was quite good looking in a pretty boy sort of way. He was wearing a Ralph Lauren suit in black which set off his coloring. He stood nearly 5'10" tall and weighed in around 150 pounds. I couldn't help but think he'd never measure up to Ranger or the Merry Men no matter how pretty he was. When we walked in, he kinda creeped me out with the gleam he got in his eyes.

Mr. Williams motioned for us to join him and I noticed there was another man sitting beside him. The man was the quintessential Merry Man proto type. He stood 6'2" tall with a solid, muscular build. He had black hair and steel gray-blue eyes. My gaze met his as Ranger and I neared the table and he winked at me. I felt instantly better. Ranger sat me next to Mr. Williams and took the seat beside me.

Mr. Williams nodded to me and said, "Ms. Plum, let me introduce Randolph G. Weathers. He will be handling the case on your behalf." as he indicated the man beside him.

I nodded and held my hand out to him. His grip was firm and I felt even better about our chances. Next Mr. Williams introduced the four at the other end of the table. I nodded to each as they were introduced. Delbert as well as the lawyer Hornsby gave me the creeps every time their eyes landed on me. I inched closer to Ranger and he wrapped his arms around me.

Allen Hornsby started out talking about all the research he had done and the statute he'd found that allowed for the actions they were taking. He apologized for any hurt feelings their actions might cause but assured us they had only the best interest of Trenton at heart. He assured me if I would sign the papers he had drawn up things would go much lighter on me and I wouldn't have the worry of a legal battle on my hands. Mr. Weathers asked if he could speak for me and I nodded. He informed the group we would see them in court and I wouldn't be signing anything. With that the group tossed their heads almost in unison and stood before making their way out of the room.

Once the door closed behind them Mr. Weathers turned to me and sighed, "They might actually have a case. From the arguments they've outlined they plan to prove the house is of Royal importance."

"Royal importance?"

"Yes. If they can prove their case and prove the house has a Royal importance, then they can change the zoning of the house and attached land and in effect steal it out from under you."

My eyes narrowed as something pulled at my memory. It was just beyond my grasp but something told me to find out more about this Royal thing. "How would the house be proven to have Royal importance?"

"The house has a long history starting with the room in the basement that held the four British officers. They plan on arguing the basement was probably a jail of sorts during the Battle of Trenton and then when Al Capone bought the land he built the house and dug tunnels. In the process he found a tunnel passage already intact that led from the slave room to the hill about a mile from your house. He built another tunnel and connected it to the underground house the Delaware used to hide, and went further to where you are currently building something. In the late 1970's Hoffa had his Sarcophagus brought in and arranged to be placed in the Sarcophagus upon his death. All the owners have added to the importance of the house, even the people who owned it in the 1700's added the wine cellar. They are going to argue that you changed the house to suit your own needs, not caring of the history of the house or what you were destroying. Not only that but you are doing a lot of building and as yet you haven't informed the Historical Society about the importance of the house. They had to learn about it in a roundabout way."

"So this makes the house of royal importance?" At his nod I asked, "What would make it so the house would no longer be considered of Royal importance?"

Mr. Weathers tilted his head in thought. "If you could prove that the improvements you are making are adding to the importance of the house or if you could prove part of their information to be wrong."

"What if I could do both?"

Mr. Weathers smiled, "That would totally change the picture. They could no longer claim the Royal importance claim and would have to cede you Royal ownership."

I mumbled, "Turn the blue factor purple."

Mr. Weathers nodded. "Exactly. Turn the blue or Royal factor to purple or a loyal Royal."

"I believe the house was actually built in 1524 by Giovanni Da Verrazzano. Al Capone bought the house already built and brought in the printing press and started counterfeiting money. The Delaware built their underground house and lived there till they were discovered and relocated and then the owner of the house let the British leaders be locked in a part of his basement. His family was in the spirit making business in the old world and they brought many bottles with them and built the wine cellar. Next came the Union Patriots that helped the runaway slaves. The tunnel passage was built to help them escape. Capone built the money room and the tunnel that leads past the underground house to give him another way out in case he needed it. When Hoffa disappeared he came here and brought in the Sarcophagus and set up the room where his body was placed. He didn't live here though. In 1977 the man who bought the house was an amateur architect and he had plans for the house that were never realized. He drew the blueprints for the improvements but that's as far as it went."

Mr. Weathers and Mr. Williams each gave me a funny look but it was Ranger that spoke up, "How did you find out all that Babe?"

"The old man told me yesterday afternoon."

Ranger's eyes widened fractionally but there was no other reaction. Mr. Williams asked, "What old man?"

I shrugged, "He showed up when Ranger and I went for a walk yesterday afternoon. He said my plans had vision and I'd make an old man proud. He also told me to tell my Grandma he regrets the past more than she could imagine."

Ranger asked, "Any idea who he might be?"

I shook my head. I had a thought to call Grandma so I pulled my phone out and made the call. When she answered I asked, "Grandma, I met an old man yesterday and he wanted me to tell you he regrets the past more than you can imagine. Do you know who that might be?"

I heard Grandma's gasp of surprise. She described my visitor of the day before to a T. "That's him. Who is he?"

"That was my Toby baby girl. He owned this house you bought back in 1977. By then he had finally married and he had three children. He was a lawyer but dabbled in architecture. He did love to draw houses. It was always his dream to own this house. He gave me the blueprints for what he planned to do with this place when he owned it. I knew him before I married my Harry. Toby was a lot like your Ranger and he didn't care how crazy I acted, he always stood behind me. Harry didn't like him too much. He was always saying I needed to give up the foolishness and settle down and marry him. Harry was a lot like Joe in that regard. I loved Harry, don't get me wrong. But, Toby was my heart. When the war hit Toby enlisted and he told me not to wait for him to come home. It broke my heart when he went away to war. I never forgot him."

My eyes were misty when I finished listening to Grandma's story. "I don't think he forgot you either Grandma."

"When he came back from war he came to see me. By then I had married Harry and I had your mother. Although I'll never regret getting you, I can't help wondering if Helen would have turned out better if he'd been her father instead of Harry. I think Harry knew I never stopped loving Toby. Toby died a few days before Harry."

I ended the call and turned to Ranger. I took a deep breath and grasped Ranger's hand before turning to the two lawyers and saying, "The old man is the one who owned the house before I did. My Grandma has the blueprint he planned to use for the house and land."

Mr. Weathers smiled, "If you can get that blueprint to us right away?"

I nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem."

We stood and shook hands again. Mr. Williams said, "The hearing is scheduled for the morning in the judge's chambers. We'll need you there by 9 a.m. and if you could bring the blueprints."

I smiled and replied, "No problem."

_Any guess on which of the group in the meeting is the bad guy/girl? Information on Hungarian dishes is from Wikipedia. As for the Royal importance factor and the loyal Royal factor, I'm sure you've guessed that is a figment of my imagination. _


	49. Trouble at the Courthouse

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 49: Trouble at the Courthouse

Stephanie's POV:

When Ranger and I returned to the house I asked Grandma about the blueprint. She went to her room and brought back a canister similar to the one Ranger had in his office. I opened it and took out the blueprints. I unrolled them and gasped. Ranger put a hand on my waist and looked over my shoulder. He stiffened as I unveiled the plans. Neither one of us could believe what we were seeing. I knew Ranger was thrown by the similarities with his plans and I was floored for another reason. I rolled the plans back up and we took them with us for safe keeping. Ranger and I went up to the apartment. After making sure the plans were someplace safe till morning, Ranger turned to me and took me in his arms. He lowered his mouth onto mine and I was lost in the pleasure his mouth was giving mine. In moments we were standing there naked and then Ranger lifted me and carried me through to the bedroom.

Ranger lowered me gently onto the bed and followed me down with his mouth still on mine. I loved the feel of his body on mine and my legs slid apart allowing him to get even closer to where I wanted him. He moved so that he was poised to enter me and in seconds we were on our way to paradise. I couldn't get enough of him and lucky for me it seemed as if he couldn't get enough of me. When we finally surfaced we had barely enough time to shower and dress for dinner. We managed to sit down at the table exactly at 6 p.m.

Tank, Lula, Joyce, Grandma, and Daddy were all there, and so was Chester Deuce. Grandma had made lasagna for dinner and we had salad and garlic bread as well, along with breaded mozzarella stix. The food was delicious. For dessert Grandma made my favorite pineapple upside down cake. I asked Daddy how the construction was coming and he smiled and said the men were making good headway and it would be done inside a month. I was glad to hear that.

After dinner everyone went their separate ways and Ranger and I headed back to the apartment. There was a documentary on that Ranger wanted to watch so we got situated on the sofa. Ranger lounged back with his legs crossed at the ankle as they rested on the coffee table and I leaned against Ranger with his arms around me. The documentary was an excellent one on the Jersey Devil. I was surprised Ranger was interested in the subject and when I asked him about it he said he had signed a client that claimed his house was the former property of the Jersey Devil.

I smiled and asked, "Have the guys already set up the security system?"

Ranger grinned and kissed the top of my head. "Yes. The sensors have been tripped every night at midnight. There's nothing on the monitors and none of the guys can figure out what's tripping the sensors. The owner mentioned the documentary on the house."

I grinned, "Maybe you should have a couple of the guys spend the night in the house. Maybe Lester and Vince. They're the two who love practical jokes."

Ranger narrowed his eyes as he contemplated my suggestion, "That might actually be a good idea Babe. Les and Vince wouldn't rest until they knew how it was being done."

Ranger took out his phone and called Rangeman. From his side of the conversation I listened as he told whoever answered the phone that he wanted Lester and Vince to go out to the house in the Pine Barrens and spend the night so if the alarm was tripped they would be on site to investigate. I yawned and when Ranger put the phone away he stood and reached down to help me up. I went readily into his arms and he lifted me as his mouth came down to cover mine.

When I woke in the morning my stomach was a little queasy. I lay still trying to let my stomach settle but suddenly it was imperative that I get to the bathroom. No sooner had I reached the stool and it felt like my stomach was trying to come out my mouth. When I had finished throwing up I rested my head against the stool.

Ranger knelt down beside me and put a hand on the back of my neck. "You okay Babe?"

"My stomach is a little queasy. I'm sure I'll be fine in a few minutes."

He stood and helped me up. I brushed my teeth and cleaned myself up before dressing for the hearing. I decided on a little black skirt and rose colored blouse. When I walked out to the kitchen to meet Ranger his eye darkened with desire. When I looked at what he was eating my mouth started to water. "That looks delicious. Mind if I have some?"

Ranger raised an eyebrow, "You want some lox and bagel Babe? I thought you hated the stuff."

I was staring at the food on his plate and running my tongue around my lips. I don't remember ever trying them. It sure looks delicious though."

Ranger continued to watch me as he took a bagel and added some lox to it before holding it out to me. I reached in and took a bite and moaned. "Oh that is _so_ good!"

I took the rest of the bagel from Ranger and finished it off. When I was done he had another one ready and I downed it as well. He offered another but I shook my head and said, "Thanks but I'm good."

Ranger finished what was left of his breakfast and we collected the canister and headed to the courthouse. Once again Ranger took me in the side entrance and we made our way to the judge's chambers. We sat on the bench outside the office and waited for the others to arrive. I got as close to Ranger as I could possibly get. I put my hand on his thigh and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him and sighed.

Just as I was starting to relax the four musketeers arrived. Delbert Stone and Allen Hornsby looked at me like I was their next meal. I stiffened and Ranger leaned closer and softly reassured me, "Don't worry Babe. I won't let them near you."

I grinned up at him and whispered, "My hero."

Ranger touched my nose with his forefinger and whispered, "Smartass."

I kissed his finger and his eyes darkened. At that moment Mr. Williams and Mr. Weathers arrived and the door to the judge's chambers opened and we were called in. There were 4 chairs on one side of the room and four chairs on the other side of the room. Since the Historical Society was bringing the suit they went first and proposed their case.

Allen Hornsby smiled smugly and stood in front of the judge. He walked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth in front of the judge's desk as he stated there case. Every once in a while he would turn and look at me and his eyes would slide over my body and drool rolled down his chin. I scooted closer to Ranger and he wrapped his arms around me making me feel even more secure. When Mr. Hornsby finally finished presenting his case, Mr. Weathers stood and started to tell our side.

Every time Mr. Weathers made a point in our favor, Delbert snarled and it made me think of a rabid dog. When he finished speaking, Mr. Weathers had answered all their charges except the one about my building half hazardly on the property. Mr. Weathers went on to say since the property was mine I was entitled to build whatever I wanted. He iterated how I had the proper permits and all so there was nothing stopping me from building on my own land. Both the women were glaring daggers at me, but Delbert was really making my spidey senses scream. There was a red glow to his eyes that told me if this didn't go his way he might turn physical. I leaned into Ranger and mentioned my suspicions and Ranger leaned closer and softly said he agreed. He'd already sent a text to Rangeman to let them know he needed a team outside the judge's chambers before we got done.

The judge asked if Mr. Weathers or Mr. Williams had anything else and they entered the blue prints the former owner had drawn up. The judge looked at the plans and then asked what relevance they had. Mr. Weathers opened his laptop and showed the judge what my plans were for my land. The judge's eyes widened and he exclaimed in astonishment. The judge turned to me and asked, "When did you first see these plans Ms. Plum?"

"Last night when I got them from my Grandma."

Delbert stood and raged, "You're _her_ granddaughter? I should have known. She's ruined our lives since before we were born."

I frowned at them and said, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"The_ great_ Edna! My mother hated that name. She cursed the day she fell in love with our father because even though he married her he never loved her. He was always in love with his Edna."

I turned to the judge and held my hands palms up and shrugged. The judge nodded to the plans and said, "You intend for your property to look like this when you get done?"

"I do."

The judge studied my plans and then the blueprints. He turned to the others and said, "You don't have a case. I'm finding for Stephanie Plum."

Delbert clenched his fists and took a threatening step towards the judge, "You've made a mistake. Change your mind or I will smite thee down."

The judge narrowed his eyes and took in Mr. Hornsby, "Get control of your client or I will put you both in jail."

Delbert howled and lunged at the judge. Ranger stood and had Delbert on the ground with his hands behind his back in seconds. The judge thanked him and called for an officer to come take him down to a holding cell. The ladies were looking at Delbert like they didn't know him. Two officers entered and took him away. The judge looked sternly at the other three and warned them about taking things any further. I was relieved when the judge said the house and land would remain mine. Ranger had his arm around my waist as we made our way out of the courthouse. Mr. Williams and Mr. Weathers had congratulated me on giving them what they needed to win the case.

Tank and Lester were waiting outside the judge's chambers and they joined us as we left the courthouse. When we got outside I saw the two Society ladies but not their lawyer. I had an awful feeling like something was going to happen and turned to tell Ranger. I had only enough time to say, "I have a feeling" when a shot rang out and I felt excruciating pain. The world went dark and I felt myself falling.

Ranger's POV:

For some reason my internal sensors were on heightened alert when we exited the courthouse. Tank and Lester were with us and we did our best to make sure Stephanie was covered. I saw the two Society ladies and wondered where their lawyer had gotten to so fast. Steph turned to me and started to say something but she was only able to say, "I have a feeling" when a shot rang out and I saw Steph's eyes close and she started to go down. I lifted her in my arms and ran to the Turbo with her as Tank and Lester covered us. I got her in the Turbo and then slid behind the wheel and told the guys, "I want him."

Tank nodded and made a gesture with his hand. A shot rang out and there was a woman's scream. I didn't stop to see what was going on because I had my foot to the floor and we were rocketing to the emergency room at St. Francis. When we got there I parked at the doors and rushed Stephanie inside. They wanted to take her from me and make me wait in the waiting room. I got up close and personal with the doc and told him I was staying and would do my best to stay out of their way but I was not leaving her. The nurse asked if Stephanie could possibly be pregnant and I started to say no but remembered this morning and said, "It's possible."

They drew some blood and we had to wait for the results. When the doctor got them he sighed and said that would make his job harder. He turned to me and before he could say anything I told him, "She means more to me than anything. Do whatever you have to in order to save her life."

The doctor nodded and they prepped Stephanie for surgery. I waited outside the operating room for the surgery to be over. I had been there maybe a half hour when Bobby showed up. He waited with me. When Stephanie was wheeled out I followed to post op where she would stay till she started to come around. She had made it through surgery and that was all that mattered.

Stephanie's POV:

The first thing that registered was pain. My ass hurt like a son of a bitch and my head wasn't much better. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was Ranger's head lying on the bed beside me as he sat in the chair. I raised my hand and laid it on his head. Ranger instantly raised his head and his eyes fixed on me. "Babe?"

"Hey Batman. What happened?"

"Hornsby shot you and Ram shot Hornsby. Turns out Hornsby was Penelope's illegitimate son. He had the idea to steal the land from you but he didn't know how to go about it. He had a visitor not long after you had bought the land that suggested he check out the Royal importance factor."

My eyes narrowed, "Why do I get the feeling it was Mary Lou?"

Ranger leaned close and kissed me. "Got it in one Babe. She figured if she didn't get to you before Hornsby filed suit, she could watch you lose everything."

"So do I need to worry about Hornsby?"

Ranger raised an eyebrow, "Not anymore. As I said, Ram took him out. Permanently. Penelope was beside herself with grief and blames all this on you but she won't be a problem. Nor will her sister. I arranged for them to move elsewhere where they won't be reminded daily about everything that has gone on. Delbert will join them when he finally gets out of jail but that might take some time. Apparently he bit his cell mate in the neck and claimed he was the Jersey Devil. They sent him to a psych ward."

Over the next month Ranger and I settled into a routine. When I left the house Ranger suggested we stay in his apartment on 7 so I wouldn't have to suffer going back and forth in the car every day. It worked out well, especially because every Friday after work we would drive to the house and spend the weekend there. My butt hurt for the first week and Ella made me a seat cushion that I took everywhere with me. Daddy kept me up on what was happening on the construction front. As well as the building the crew was putting up I had arranged for several other changes as well. I was counting down the days till I could show Ranger just what was under construction. Today was that day and I couldn't wait.

I got the text on my phone at 10 a.m. that construction was complete. I stood and walked to Ranger's office door and went inside without knocking. Ranger looked up with a grin as I entered, "Hi Babe. What can I do for you?"

"I need to run out to the construction site."

He nodded, "Alright Babe."

I rolled my eyes, "I want you to go with me. Please."

Ranger looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. "Alright Babe." He stood. He put his arm around my waist and we made our way to the elevator and down to the garage.

When we reached the Turbo I bit my lip and looked up into his eyes. "Will you let me drive? I have a surprise."

Ranger handed me the keys and helped me sit behind the wheel before going around to the passenger seat. I made the drive to the location in no time and as we went to make the last turn I said, "Close your eyes please."

Ranger smiled and closed his eyes. I drove closer and parked. I got out and went around to the passenger side and opened the door. Ranger took hold of my hand and climbed out of the car. I took a deep breath and said, "Alright. You can look now."

Ranger opened his eyes and looked at the building in front of us. He turned to me with a questioning look. I motioned to the building and said, "I took a good look at your plans. I know you planned to tear the house down but it all works together much better this way. Don't you think?"

"Babe?"

I squeezed his hand and we walked closer to the building. I knew the minute he read Rangeman. I could feel the change in his stance even though there was no outward sign. I smiled and asked, "How do you like it?"

"Why?"

"Because I love you. I thought maybe we could share our dreams and combine them. When I saw the blue prints Grandma had I couldn't believe it. It was exactly what I had planned for the house and land. I want us to share our dreams."

Ranger bent down and kissed me. "I love the gesture and I love you Babe. But this is too much."

I put my finger over his lips. "How can I make you okay with this?"

"Let me pay for the building."

I thought about it for a minute and then said, "If you really need to."

Ranger took me in his arms and nodded, "I need to."

I reached up and kissed him. "I love you Batman."

Ranger said, "I love you too Babe." Just before his mouth covered mine and we lost ourselves in each other.

_Just one more chapter to go._


	50. Building Dreams Again

**Disclaimer: The characters you recognize as J.E. are hers. The rest belong to me. Thanks to Knitter (Sandy) for the basic idea for the story.**

_**Spoilers: Anything from the first 18 books.**_

_This is probably more AU than canon. Although there may be material from any of the 18 books, I have changed the reality of Stephanie and the rest of the characters from the Plum series. _

_**I would like to thank all of you that have reviewed. I try to respond to all reviews, so for those of you that reviewed as guests or have your PM turned to off, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for your reviews. **__Special thanks to mandyh for her help with it's and its for future reference. _

Chapter 50: Building Dreams

_26 years later…_

Stephanie's POV:

I felt the bed move when Ranger got up and I opened my eyes momentarily and smiled as I watched him walking naked into the bathroom. I moaned and he stilled before turning his head around to look my way. When he noticed I was awake his eyes darkened with desire and he changed direction, making his way back to the bed. He pulled the cover back so his view of my body was unobstructed. I smiled and slid my legs apart. He let out a deep groan and came down on top of me with his mouth devouring mine. Even after a night of loving we still hadn't had enough of each other. I didn't think it would ever be possible for us ever to have enough of each other. I wrapped my legs around his waist and moaned with pleasure as he filled me. The pace was fast and furious and then without warning Ranger would slow things down to a tortuous crawl until I was ready to scream, then once again he would quicken the pace. When I went over the edge he was right there with me.

The next time I woke up, Ranger was already gone. I slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom to answer natures call and get ready for the day ahead. When I exited the bathroom I was dressed in blue jeans, a bronze t-shirt and sneakers. I had my hair pulled back into a ponytail and a modest application of makeup. I headed downstairs to the kitchen to see what I could scrounge up for breakfast. I was surprised to see Ranger still home. He smiled when I walked into the kitchen and brought a plate full of Boston Cream donuts to the table.

I smiled, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Ranger kissed me very thoroughly before replying, "It's a special day today Babe. I decided to take the day off so we could spend it together."

My eyes widened and Ranger chuckled, "Don't tell me you forgot?"

I blushed, "I didn't forget."

Ranger just smiled his million watt smile and leaned in to kiss me very thoroughly once again. He seated me at the table before taking his own seat. "So what would you like to do today Babe?"

"I hadn't given it much thought. I mean I know we are going out with Tank and Lula for dinner and then we are meeting everyone else at the new club in Trenton. But I hadn't thought about what I was going to be doing until dinner time."

Ranger leaned in and took my hands in his. "If you could choose anything, what would it be?"

I closed my hand around his larger one and smiled, "Hmm, you sure you're up for it?"

Ranger returned my smile with his own, "I think you'll find I'm _more_ than up for _anything_ you want Babe."

I giggled, "Good. Then I'd like to spend the day in bed."

I took my last bite of donut and Ranger stood and held out his hand to me. Amazing, after 25 years of marriage we still couldn't get enough of each other. As a matter of fact, it seemed our desire had grown instead of faded. Ranger carried me back upstairs to our bedroom and removed our clothing before he used his mouth to pleasure every inch of me. Once he had finished I returned the favor before he mounted and entered me. When sleep came we were wrapped in each other's arms.

When I awoke the next time it as nearly 3 p.m. Ranger was lying on the bed watching me. I smiled and asked, "Are you ready for another round or should we get ready to meet Tank and Lula?"

Ranger caressed my face and lowered his mouth onto mine. When we came up for air he replied, "I'd love to go another round Babe, but we need to meet Tank and Lula in 3 hours and we both need to shower and change. As much as I'd love to keep you to myself, we can't disappoint the others."

I couldn't help but agree. "We could conserve water and share the shower."

Ranger threw back his head and laughed, "Alright Babe. I guess we can dress in a hurry to make it in time."

He threw back the covers and we hurried to the bathroom. We were both laughing once we climbed into the shower. After adjusting the knobs we took turns washing each other which led to another encounter where Ranger lifted me to place me over him at just the right spot so he could enter me. He leaned me against the wall and pounded into me with such delicious force. Before I knew it I was flying and I cried out his name at the same moment he cried out mine. After several moments of just holding each other Ranger set me down and we each quickly washed and shampooed our hair before climbing out of the shower and drying off. It was a race to get dressed in time so we wouldn't be late meeting Tank and Lula.

Ranger dressed in a black suit with a charcoal colored shirt, black tie and black dress shoes. He had his hair pulled back in a ponytail and tied with a black piece of cord. He looked just as gorgeous today as he did the first day I met him. I was dressed in a little blue dress with matching blue 5" FMP's. I had left my hair loose and managed to tame it into a mass of curls. I had learned over the years that less makeup was definitely better. I didn't need the extra mascara to hide behind with Ranger at my side. When I joined him, Ranger looked up and I was rewarded when his eyes darkened with desire, letting me know I had achieved the affect I wanted.

Ranger took my hand and pulled me to him. After giving me a kiss he held up my jacket and I slipped my arms into it before he placed his hand on my waist and walked me out to the latest in sports car fashion. Of course the car did have to be black. He held the door as I slid into the passenger seat and then he walked around to the driver's seat and climbed in. In no time we were rocketing towards Trenton.

When we reached the restaurant, Lula and Tank were already waiting for us. The hostess led us to their table and Ranger helped me to sit down before he took his seat. Tank nodded and Lula took one look at me and said, "You two just can't leave each other alone for 5 seconds can you?"

I blushed and Ranger chuckled before replying, "At a guess I'd say the two of you only beat us by seconds."

Lula's eyes went wide and Tank just looked smug. The waitress came and took our drink orders and left menus. Everything looked so good and I couldn't decide. I finally narrowed it down to two items when she came back to take our order. Ranger leaned in and said, "Why don't you order one and I'll order the other."

I smiled before turning to the waitress and telling her the two dishes we would be sharing. Once she had left to place our orders I sat back and relaxed. A least until Lula asked, "So what you two been doing all day as if I need to ask?"

I blushed but Ranger merely raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does that mean you are going to give us a play by play of your day as well?"

Lula's eyes bugged and she stammered. Tank gave Lula a stern look and said, "We don't need to know what they were doing all day Mama Bear."

Lula huffed, smiled and went on, "I spose we don't."

Tank maneuvered the conversation to a safer topic and we spent the next hour talking about trivial things and eating. When the food came it was every bit as wonderful as we had heard. Well worth the amount they were charging for it. Although I liked both of the dishes Ranger and I ordered, I found I liked what he had before him better so he switched plates with me. While we ate the conversation turned to various people that we knew.

Tank brought up the fact that Carl was back in town. He had recently retired from the police force in California and was here visiting relatives with his wife and family. Carl had married a lovely nurse 5 years after moving to California and they now had two teenage sons and a teenage daughter. He had come back periodically over the years and we had managed to avoid each other for the first several visits. Finally, about 10 years ago we had all ended up at the same event. Carl had congratulated me on my family and I returned the compliment. Carl and I had a chance to talk alone and he told me he'd finally realized how much he really loved his wife. I told him I was happy for him. When Ranger came out and saw us talking he didn't say anything, but when Carl left I placed my hand on Ranger's arm and told him what Carl had said. I knew he was happy for Carl as well.

Lula asked if I'd had a chance to see the paper. When I admitted I hadn't she said it was in the paper that Mary Lou had passed away the night before. She had gotten in a fight with another inmate and was stabbed to death. I wasn't sure what to feel at the news. Mostly I just thought what a waste her life had been. She could have done so much but she let jealousy rule her. Ranger reached over and placed his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me close. He kissed my forehead and held me close.

When we had finished eating Tank pulled out his wallet the same time that Ranger pulled his out. Tank held up a hand and said, "I got this Rangeman."

Ranger paused and then nodded. We all stood and Tank said they would meet us at the club. Ranger helped me into the car before taking his seat behind the wheel. We were at the club in minutes. Dreams was a new addition to Trenton. It had a club area with a DJ, and there were rooms to rent for parties. Ranger found a parking space beside the door we needed to enter and he came around to help me out of the car. We made our way inside and to the room that had been rented for the party. Twenty-five years ago tonight Ranger and I had said our marriage vows and tonight our children; 26 year old Dante Francis, 23 year old Edna Grace, and 20 year old Marco Carlos; where throwing an anniversary party for us. They had invited all our friends to join us in celebrating.

I was surprised to see all the people who had come to join us. When we entered the room our children were the first to great us. Grace ran to her daddy and Dante wrapped me in his arms. Marco put a hand on each of us. I adjusted my stance slightly and Dante teased, "Don't tell me your butt is hurting."

Ranger and I laughed at the reference. Over 26 years ago when Allen Hornsby shot me he'd managed to his me in the ass. A normal procedure to remove the bullet was made infinitely more difficult by the fact I was a few weeks pregnant with Dante. Luckily my surgeon was a master with a scalpel as well as a needle and thread and you could barely see where the bullet had gone in. Of course when Dante told us he was entering the Army he used the fact he had already survived a bullet to build his case for why it was the way for him to go.

I finally found out for sure I was pregnant two weeks after I had shared the new Rangeman building with Ranger. When I told Ranger I was pregnant I didn't understand why there were tears in his eyes. Ranger sat me down and told me about the day I was shot. How he had told the surgeon to do whatever he had to save me. He was just happy that the baby had made it as well. When I realized what an awful position he had been placed in I loved him all the more. We decided we weren't going to rush into getting married just because I was pregnant. We wanted our marriage to be for the right reasons and so we waited, although for all intents and purposes we were already acting like a married couple and living together.

When Dante was born he was christened Dante Francis Manoso. When Ranger picked us up at the hospital he drove us home. Although it wasn't to the new Rangeman building or to the house. Instead he drove us to a house he had commissioned to have built not far from the little lake we had found on the day we went walking. The house had two levels and there was an attached two car garage. The master suit was upstairs as well as three and a half bedrooms besides and a bathroom. When he carried Dante into the house he took him right upstairs to the nursery, which was the half room.

Once the children had stepped back we were surrounded by other friends as well as family. Lester and Bobby were there with their families. Bobby had been married 15 years to a lovely lady named Sue and had two teenagers, a girl and a boy. Lester had been the last holdout and had now been married 10 years and he had whined about the fact that he would have to work twice as hard to make up for lost time in the children department. I think fate has a sense of humor though because Lester's wife gave birth to triplets within a year of their marriage. It was a difficult birth and Deanna told Lester that three was plenty and she was done.

Tank and Lula had actually gotten married before we did. They celebrated their 25th anniversary last year when their 24 year old son Derek, and their 22 year old daughter Gloria threw them a party. Derek's arrival in the world was one for the books. Lula hadn't even known she was pregnant when she started having labor pains. When Tank took Lula to the hospital, they thought it was her appendix or something.

When the x-rays had come back and the doctor had told her, "It looks like you are going to have a baby."

"What?!" Lula screeched. "You got the wrong damn x-rays!"

Twenty pain-filled hours later Lula learned that they had indeed had the right x-rays when her new son was placed in her arms. She took one look at the baby and reached up and grabbed the neck of Tank's shirt and clutched it in her hand and twisted, pulling Tank down to her, "You touch me with that thing any time soon and you be damn sorry."

Tank kissed Lula and said, "Aw Mama Bear. He's perfect. Just like you."

Lula melted and smiled, "He is at that ain't he?"

At least when she was pregnant with Gloria she'd had six weeks' notice before the baby came. By that time Joyce and Chester Deuce had married and taken over the third floor of the house. I had Lula take over running the house and she, Grandma and Joyce gave tours of the house and rented out three of the rooms as a bed and breakfast. You wouldn't believe all the people who wanted to sleep in a house with so much history. The three of them did a wonderful job and Daddy took care of general maintenance. There was a full time handyman as well named Dillon and he was a really nice character. Tank and Lula had the penthouse at the new Rangeman building as their home. Ella and Louis had an apartment on six, just like at the old building. The new building had twice as many apartments for the guys.

Jeanne Ellen and Ram had an apartment that took up the other half of six. They had married a couple months before Tank and Lula, and they had a 20 year old son named Caleb and another son 15, named Tyler.

Ranger and I made the rounds saying hi to everyone. Morelli was there with his wife Penny. Joe met her when he was shot in the line of duty and she was the emergency room doctor that took care of him. At first everyone was taking bets on who would kill who first but then things heated up and one thing led to another and three months later they were married with a baby on the way. They now had 5 children. Poor Joe….imagine 5 little girls with the Morelli charm and dimples in their cheeks and a smile that drew the boys in droves.

My cousin Eddie and his wife Shirley were there with their three sons that were in their thirties now. Several of the guys from Rangeman were there as well. Hector and Binkie had tied the knot about 20 years ago. Cal married a cute little redhead firecracker named Margaret that was no bigger than 5' tall and she weighed a little bit of nothing. She had been in an accident when she was 16 and had spent her years since in a wheelchair. She came to work at Rangeman just after Ranger and I married and Cal took one look and determined to show her it didn't matter that she was stuck in a chair, she could still have a full and rewarding life. Poor Woody was ambushed by his best friends little sister when she came to see him and tell him her brother had died. Woody took one look at the now grown up younger sister of his childhood best friend and lost his heart. He finally convinced Ruby to marry him and they now had a 15 year old boy named Corey and two daughter Laura 8 and Bonnie 5. Hal married 12 years ago and although they had no children, they would often take a group of handicapped children to a baseball game or the Zoo or some such event. Hal's wife was a teacher and she worked with children that had special needs. Vince met a beautiful model nearly 17 years before when he was assigned to be her bodyguard when she was getting threats from an unknown. Vince took a bullet saving her life and six months later they were married. They had a daughter 13 named Maggie. Junior and Chester Rodriguez got together shortly after Grandma was kidnapped and had been together ever since.

There had been so many changes in the past 25 years. Ranger and I stopped at a table where my Dad was sitting with Joyce, Chester and their children. I leaned down and hugged him and kissed his cheek, "Hey Daddy, how's it going?"

"Just fine Pumpkin."

Joyce and I exchanged looks. We both knew Daddy was getting up there in age and one of these days our hearts were going to break when we lost him, but for now he was doing well. He had taken over Grandma Mazur's room at the house when she passed on at the age of 99 years young. The funeral was a hoot. I was deeply touched by the guys from Rangeman when they'd asked if they could give her a proper send off and they'd all mooned her as she was laid to rest. Grandma would have gotten a kick out of it.

We mingled with all the guests. Ranger stayed by my side the whole night and as the party wore down we headed in the direction of the band. Sally Sweet and the Riders had performed at special request. Sally had made it big as an entertainer and spent several years in Hollywood before returning to Trenton three years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. He wanted to live out his life with the people he loved most. Mooner was Sally's manager and had made them both a fortune many times over. When Sally wanted to return, Mooner made it happen and joined him. Neither one of them had ever met that special someone so they decided to share accommodations so neither of them would have to be alone.

Once we had talked with everyone I leaned my head against Ranger and said, "I can't wait till we can go home and get naked."

There was a gasp behind us and I turned to see Grace standing there and her face was beet red. She rolled her eyes and said, "M.o.o.o.m! Geez."

I laughed and hugged her. "You wait. Your day will be coming when you meet a man you can't keep your hands off of."

She blushed even more and I narrowed my eyes and asked, "Or have you already found him?"

She smiled and lifted her head, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

I laughed, "Ah, but you forget that I married a security expert who has ways of finding out information like that."

Her cheeks turned pink and at that moment Dante walked back over with another man that looked to be a few years older than him. He nodded to Ranger and smiled and took my hand, "Mom, I'd like you to meet my CO and a good friend of mine. This is Drake Taylor. Drake, this is my mom, Stephanie and my dad Ranger."

Drake stood 6'4" tall and had that muscular build that seemed a prerequisite for all the Merry Men. He had black hair that was so dark it had blue highlights in it and it was tied back with a leather tie. He had the bluest eyes I had ever seen and he was ruggedly handsome. I smiled at him and held out my hand which he took in his. "It's nice to meet you Drake."

Drake's voice was like liquid gold as he replied, "I'm pleased to meet you Mrs. Manoso."

"Please, Stephanie. I'm not one for formalities."

Drake nodded, "Stephanie then." He turned to Ranger and held out his hand, "I'm pleased to meet you as well Mr. Manoso."

Ranger nodded, "Ranger will do."

Drake grinned and I felt Grace's hand on my arm. I turned and recognized the look on her face. Mystery solved. I smiled to myself and asked, "Drake, have you met Dante's sister Grace?"

Drake turned to Grace and I swear it was like lightening had struck right there in that room with all the electricity being given off. Drake took Grace's hand in his and his eyes darkened as he pulled her closer to him. "Grace."

Grace grinned and with her free hand she sent him a finger wave. As much as Dante and Marco were replicas of Ranger, Grace was a carbon copy of me. Grace and Drake wandered off into the night and Dante shook his head and said, "Who would have thought?"

Ranger turned to Dante and asked, "What?"

"That my CO and my sister would take one look at each other and go off Building Dreams."

Ranger smiled is full million watt smile and replied, "Grace is a carbon copy of your mother. I took one look at her and knew she would be my future."

I grinned and said, "Drake is a lot like you and your father. I knew after meeting your father that he was the kind of man Dreams were made of. I took one look at Ranger and started Building my Dreams."

Dante shook his head and muttered as he walked over to the band and asked them to play the Anniversary Waltz so all the couples could dance one final time. As the band started playing I saw Drake take Grace in his arms and they started to dance. Ranger pulled me into his arms and we danced to the Anniversary Waltz. When the music ended Ranger lowered his mouth and covered mine. While our mouths were still locked together he lifted me and carried me to the car where he gently set me in the passenger seat and then we were racing home. In no time he was lifting me out of the car and carrying me to the house. He didn't stop until we were in our bedroom and we were both as naked as the day we came into the world. Ranger lowered me to the bed and lay against me as he made all my dreams come true.

And they lived _HAPPILY EVER AFTER_! **The End**

_It has been quite a ride and I thank all of you for coming along for the ride. I am sad to see the story end but it seemed to be the right time. I want to thank all of you for the wonderful reviews and for those of you who caught mistakes I want to thank you for pointing them out so I could fix them. Thank you all. I will be taking a break, not sure how long it will last because I am addicted to the reviews. I am starting a project soon and want to give it my whole focus for as long as I can. I might get desperate for reviews and throw out a song-fic or two though. Till we meet again, take care all._

_Christi_


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